Evening Prayer based on Northumbria Community Prayers and Moravian Readings

Wednesday 03 September 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

Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.

Hebrews 13:1

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

Ezekiel 36:26

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Matthew 5:44-45

Prayer

O God, allow us to really listen; to feel the Holy Spirit; to observe your love; to make love a part of everyday life; to share love with all; to try and love like you. To you, we pray. 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

Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people!

Psalm 113:5-8

There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.

Deuteronomy 15:11

Mary responded,

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.

Luke 1:46

Today’s Meditation

Once you’ve heard a child cry out to heaven for help,
and go unanswered,
nothing’s ever the same again.
Nothing.
Even God changes.

But there is a healing hand at work
that cannot be deflected from its purpose.
I just can’t make sense of it, other than to cry.
Those tears are part of what it is to be a monk.

Out there, in the world, it can be very cold.
It seems to be about luck, good and bad,
and the distribution is absurd.

We have to be candles, burning between hope and despair,
faith and doubt, life and death,
all the opposites.

William Brodrick

Prayers for others

OMS Prayers

Open Doors World Watch List

Pray for Colombia

Heavenly Father, we pray for Christians who risk so much to follow You in Colombia – especially those who live in areas controlled by rebel groups or cartels. We ask You to give them courage but also wisdom; that they would know when and how to speak, and how they can best serve You. Please, work through Your people! In Jesus’s name, 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.