Time to Pray – Daily Prayer for Wednesday 5 September, 2018

Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near.

Isaiah 55.6

Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit:

as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.

A poem: A Song of Redemption

Christ is the image of the invisible God:
the first-born of all creation.
For in him all things were created:
in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
All things were created through him and for him:
he is before all things
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the Church:
he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead.
For it pleased God that in him
all fullness should dwell:
and through him all things be reconciled to himself.

Colossians 1.15-20

The opening prayer

By night and by day we worship the Lord; let us pray with one heart and mind.

We remember God’s presence and pause in silence.

Father of lights, receive the prayer and praise we offer you as our daily sacrifice; make us a light for all the world, delivered by your goodness from all the works of darkness; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

The readings

Psalm 62

On God alone my soul in stillness waits;
from him comes my salvation.

He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold, so that I shall never be shaken.

How long will all of you assail me to destroy me,
as you would a tottering wall or a leaning fence?

They plot only to thrust me down from my place of honour; lies are their chief delight;
they bless with their mouth, but in their heart they curse.

Wait on God alone in stillness, O my soul;
for in him is my hope.

He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.

In God is my strength and my glory;
God is my strong rock; in him is my refuge.

Put your trust in him always, my people;
pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.

The peoples are but a breath, the whole human race a deceit;
on the scales they are altogether lighter than air.

Put no trust in oppression; in robbery take no empty pride;
though wealth increase, set not your heart upon it.

God spoke once, and twice have I heard the same,
that power belongs to God.

Steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord,
for you repay everyone according to their deeds.

1 Corinthians 3.1-9

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Luke 4.38-end

After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.

As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.

At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.’ So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.

The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever.
Amen.

This week’s prayer:

Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and of your great mercy keep us in the same;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We thank God for what we have and pray for what we need.

Today we pray for ourselves, that God would teach us how to love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. In our local church, we ask God to bless the priests and other ministers who lead in our parish. In our world, we pray for all who serve in the political life of our area. We remember before God those who have asked for our prayers, or who are in need of them.

A prayer for the day

Lord God, whose blessed Son rose in triumph and set us free: grant us the fullness of life he promised us, that through the Holy Spirit our hearts may possess him whom our eyes cannot see, the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord be with us

now and forever.

Let us praise the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

May the God of peace equip us with everything good so that we may do his will; and may he work in us that which is pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

see Hebrews 13.20-21