Evening Prayer based on Northumbria Community Prayers and Moravian Readings

Monday 24 March 2025

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

Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.

Isaiah 55:6

So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord ’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”

1 Samuel 3:18

“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

John 21:12

Prayer

Gracious Lord, remind us that you are our Lord, and you are always with us. Draw us closer to you as we learn to recognize your presence. Help us be faithful to your leading. We praise you for your goodness and love and for your tender mercy in our lives. 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 will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done. The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not let me die.

Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord. These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!

Psalm 118:17–21

“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.

Malachi 4:2

Jesus also told them other parables. He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!

“So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.

“The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Matthew 22:1–14

Today’s Meditation

Whichever way we turn, O God, there is Your face
in the light of the moon and patterns of stars,
in sacred mountain rifts and ancient groves,
in mighty seas and creatures of the deep.

Whichever way we turn, O God, there is Your face
in the light of eyes we love,
in the salt of tears we have tasted,
in weathered countenances east and west,
in the soft skin glow of the child everywhere.
Whichever way we turn, O God, there is Your face,
there is Your face
among us.

John Philip Newell

Prayers for others

OMS Prayers

Open Doors World Watch List

Pray for Ethiopia

Heavenly Father, we lift Ethiopian believers to You. We ask for Your protection, strength and unity among all Christians in Ethiopia. May Your love and grace sustain them through every trial, and may they remain steadfast in their faith, 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.