GREETING (Adapted from Psalm 119:105 & 111)
God, your word is a lamp to our feet
and a light to our path.
Your decrees are our heritage forever;
they are the joy of our hearts.
HYMN 85 “We Believe in One True God”
PSALM 67
PRAYER
(Think back to the beginning of this day. Start there, and mentally walk through the day again, while you thank God for the day's blessings and God's continuous work of love. Confess and repent of those times when you forgot, ignored or rebelled against God. Continue to pray with your personal prayer list.)
SCRIPTURE LESSON
(Choose a passage of scripture to read. It can be a chapter, a paragraph, or a particular story. Daily lectionaries are available online or in print that assign a lesson each day from the gospels, epistles, Old Testament and psalms on a three-year cycle. Or you can create a plan to read a book of the Bible, or the whole Bible. Then follow the steps below.)
Read a passage of scripture. Read it out loud, very slowly and carefully as if for the first time. Continue reading until a word, phrase or sentence captures your attention. Stop there to repeat the word, phrase or sentence over and over, listening to it deeply in your heart.
Reflect on why the passage got your attention. Consider the area of your life to which this may apply. Is God saying something to you in this passage? Take time to listen carefully to whatever God may be saying to you.
Respond to God in prayer (or with journaling, music, art or whatever you choose) about what you have heard. Ask questions. Open yourself to God’s will for you.
Rest in God’s company. Be still and quiet. Move beyond thinking, practicing interior silence. Let yourself be open to God’s presence. Savor this moment with God.
PRAYER
I am dust – on this trifling speck of planet,
yet you, Creator of the Universe, stoop down
to be my God; already my past, now my future.
Who am I, Creator, that you care for me?
I was an orphan wandering alone, I thought.
But I was never alone, never without your care.
My dawn was when you first thought of me.
My birth was when you breathed life into me.
My eternity began when you died instead of me.
It’s not my worth that matters, but yours.
This truth dawns as you, Creator, address me,
immaculate immensity speaks to a grain of dust.
You honor me beyond my wildest dreams,
offering unfailing love to a wandering spirit,
providing a future for an itinerant, sinning heart.
I can’t fathom your forgiveness, but accept it.
I can’t explain your interest in me, but relish it.
I can’t understand your prodigal love, but trust it.
I bow to you, stunned that you choose me.
Delighted and eager I shout, “Yes, yes, yes!”
to the offered embrace of your eternal arms, God.
God, you are my God. I worship no other.
I abandon the altars of self and other false gods.
This dust, in deep gratitude, bows to my Creator. Amen.
SILENCE AND COMMITMENT
(Pause to reflect and listen. Work to push out of your mind any distracting or irrelevant thoughts. Concentrate your thoughts on the words of the hymns and choruses you have sung, the prayers you have spoken and the scriptures you have read. Be aware of what you are feeling. Listen for anything that God might be saying to you in this time you have spent together. As God responds to your prayer-time, seek guidance for how you can best respond to God’s will. Then commit to serving God’s will for you.)
HYMN 414 “Thou Hidden Love of God”
CLOSING PRAYER
As we step away from our work,
and look toward a night’s rest, O God,
we continue in your company.
This and your steadfast love,
satisfy our needs and inspire dreams
of our serving you tomorrow. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
