GREETING (Psalm 42:1)
As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
HYMN 145 “Morning Has Broken”
PSALM 90
PRAYER
(Consider the following concerns for the Church for prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, and petition. Follow with your personal prayer list.)
Wild animals Experiments done on animals
Domestic animals Humans and animals co-existing
Pets Dangers of extinction
Our human friends Abuse of animals
Our family members Abuse of people
Our own selves Human slavery
Our community Crime
Our nation Natural disasters
Our world Man-made disasters
Working together Climate change
Relationships between people Fighting and wars
Sexuality Accidents
New births Disease
Cloning and other such issues Death
Human dominion over other creatures Life after death
Animals we find creepy or scary ______________________________
Animals that attack or injure humans ______________________________
Animal personalities ______________________________
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
How long, Father, did the desire grow in your heart?
How many eons did you want children,
before you began your work of creation?
Even then, it took a long time to grow the universe:
the light and water, the Earth and sun,
plants and living creatures of every kind.
Human parents wait nine months after conceiving.
That seems like forever, but you, Lord,
such patience and such careful planning!
Every minute detail had to be absolutely perfect,
the whole universe in precise balance,
before you created one in your image.
And what a grand nursery you have prepared, Father!
Our universe grows bigger as we grow.
Galaxies spin into the vastness of space.
What wonders have you tucked away to surprise us,
as we joyfully explore the faraway stars,
planets, vast gas clouds, and dark energy?
Already, nearby, there are such marvelous neighbors:
seahorses and bears, crickets and eagles,
turtles and butterflies, doves and trout.
We have dogs at our feet and cats curled on our laps.
Cows and horses graze in nearby fields.
Guinea pigs spin in their little wheels.
What an amazing world you have created, Father!
Save us from forgetting our place in it,
or whose prodigious image we bear.
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 62 “All Creatures of Our God and King”
CLOSING PRAYER
The waking birds praise you with their songs, Father.
The dew dripping from the grasses speaks of your care.
The magenta sunrise writes your wisdom and passion.
The awaking dawn trumpets your delight in resurrection.
The stone underfoot murmurs of your great strength,
The breeze whispers of your presence to all your creation.
In this new day, I pray my life will shout your love,
and reflect a tiny glimmer of the kingdom that is coming.
Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
