GREETING (adapted from Richard of Chichester, England)
Day by day, dear Lord, of you three things we pray:
to see you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
follow you more nearly, day by day.
HYMN 385 “Let Us Plead for Faith Alone”
PSALM 40
PRAYER
(Consider some of the following concerns for prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, and petition. Follow with your personal prayer list.)
For God’s faithfulness For the faithfulness of our parents
Our faithfulness For the faithfulness of our spouse
Our unfaithfulness For the faithfulness of our children
That God forgive our unfaithfulness That God keeps promises
The faithfulness of our church That God’s love never fails
Times when the church has been unfaithful That God’s strength never fails
The glimpses of faith we see in our society That God’s wisdom never falls short
The lack of faith in our society That God’s purposes always prevail
Spreading faith in Christ in our family That God will never fail us
Spreading faith in Christ among our neighbors That we learn to trust God more
Spreading faith in Christ around the world That we trust the Spirit’s leadership
For greater consistency in our faithfulness That we trust the power of love
That Christ’s sacrifice is enough for our salvation ____________________________
That God really can and does forgive us ____________________________
That God’s Spirit will lead us true ____________________________
THE LORD'S PRAYER
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 (from Matthew 14:28-33 and Hebrews 11)
God, whose word is our solid ground,
our little faith leaves us sinking in alarm.
Teach us to stand up when called upon,
so we can feel your steady hand under us.
Teach us, God, to be more faithful like:
Noah, who heeded your warnings, and planned for events unseen;
Abraham, who left his own family to follow you into the unknown,
and when put to the test yielded even his beloved child to you;
Moses, who chose his people’s suffering over Egypt’s treasures;
Rahab, who was spared because she received those whom you sent,
Mary, who answered, "Here am I," when called to mother your Son.
Andrew, who believed, and then went to bring his brother to Christ.
God, we want to be faithful children:
who establish justice, quench raging fires, heal the blind and deaf,
save lost souls, turn back the darkest evils, embrace untouchables,
shut the mouths of lions, escape the sword, love those unlovable,
calm the stormy waters and win strength out of our own weakness.
You are so everlastingly faithful to us,
you make us want to be faithful servants:
who refuse release from awful torments,
in order to obtain the better resurrection;
who do not accept what was promised,
but wait for the better gift you offer to us.
God, we want to receive your approval,
as we walk on the world’s stormy waters;
in a calm assurance of things hoped for,
and the sure conviction of things not seen. 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 140 "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"
CLOSING PRAYER (with references to Matthew 22:36-40 and Romans 12:1-2)
Thank you, Father, for this glorious new morning,
fresh with new opportunities to join you in your work.
Keep us constant in loving you throughout the day.
Make us bold in loving every friend, stranger and foe.
Awaken us to the needs and troubles of neighbors.
and let us be like salt and light to them in every need.
We pray you spare us from cross-carrying today,
but if you will it, let us do it with joy and confidence.
As Jesus gave his life for us and our loved ones,
so we today offer our lives to you as living sacrifices,
which is the true and spiritual worship you desire.
Today is the time in which we declare our love to you. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
