Evening Prayer based on Northumbria Community Prayers and Moravian Readings

Wednesday 04 September 2024

Pause

As I enter prayer now;
I pause to be still;
to breathe slowly;
to re-centre my scattered senses upon the presence of God

Preperation

Watchwords

Watchword for the week

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

James 1:19

Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!”

So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.

1 Kings 19:5,8

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’

Matthew 6:31

Prayer

God, in times when we fear we don’t have enough, may we remember that you will provide food when we are hungry and clothing when we are in need, just as you did for Elijah. Amen.

In your name Papa, Jesus and Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

Psalm 130:6

From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer.

Psalm 130:1-2

I pray with all my heart; answer me, Lord! I will obey your decrees.

Psalm 119:145

Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?

Psalm 130:3

I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word.

Psalm 130:5

Expressions of faith

Lord, You have always given bread for the coming day; and though I am poor, today I believe.

Lord, You have always given strength for the coming day; and though I am weak, today I believe.

Lord, You have always given peace for the coming day; and though of anxious heart, today I believe.

Lord, You have always kept me safe in trials; and now, tried as I am, today I believe.

Lord, You have always marked the road for the coming day; and though it may be hidden, today I believe.

Lord, You have always lightened this darkness of mine; and though the night is here, today I believe.

Lord, You have always spoken when time was ripe; and though you be silent now, today I believe.

Today’s Scripture Reading

I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

Psalm 42:2

This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’

Jeremiah 6:16

Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”

Mark 1:35-38

Today’s Meditation

As for me, I can only fall on my knees and pray that the Lord Christ, who had died for me, might have His own way with me – that it might be worth His while to have done what He did and what He is doing now for me. To my Elder Brother, my Lord and my God, I give myself yet again, confidently, because He cares to have me and because my very breath is His. I will be what He wants, who knows all about it and has done everything that I might be His own – a living glory of gladness.

George MacDonald

Prayers for others

OMS Prayers

Open Doors World Watch List

Pray for Jordan

Dear Father, we pray for Christians in Jordan. We thank You that many of Your people in Jordan are able to worship You freely. But we pray for those who don’t have that same freedom, particularly for those who have found You out of Islam. We pray for protection, for strength, for patience and for courage. We ask these things for our brothers and sisters in the holy name of Jesus, Amen.

Canticle

Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 63:7

The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?

Psalm 27:1

Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 63:7

The one thing I ask of the Lord — the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord ’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.

Psalm 27:4

Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 63:7

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord ’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.

Psalm 27:13

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14

Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 63:7

Blessing

I will be at peace with my brothers and sisters, and love them.

I will follow the example of the wise and good, knowing You will comfort and help me, both in this world and in the world to come.

In your name Papa, Jesus and Spirit. Amen

Closing Prayer

Father, help me to live this day to the full, being true to You, in every way.
Jesus, help me to give myself away to others, being kind to everyone I meet.
Spirit, help me to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all I do and say.
Amen.