Morning Prayer based on Northumbria Community Prayers and Moravian Readings

Friday 04 April 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

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

Micah 7:19

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

1 John 1:9

Prayer

Compassionate Shepherd, guide us with your crook of mercy and forgiveness into a life of truth and repentance. May we follow your path faithfully and embody your example of agape love with every step we take. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Opening sentences

In your name Papa, Jesus and Spirit. Amen

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

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Mark 12:30-1

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

Declaration of faith

Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God. ”

John 6:68-69

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.

Today’s Scripture Reading

The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.

Psalm 119:130

He tells us everything over and over— one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!”

So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language! God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.” But they would not listen.

Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.

Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it. Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer will speak out plainly.

Isaiah 28:10-12; 32:2-4

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.

All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.

Hebrews 11:8-9, 13

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 Vietnam

Father God, thank You for the courage and determination of Vietnam’s Christian leaders, who give everything to train and encourage their brothers and sisters in the most remote places. Please meet their needs every day, and give them joy when they see the fruit of their labours. We pray You will keep the local authorities from noticing church meetings, and make the villages places of peace. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Canticle

Jesus, as my light, illuminate and guide me.
As my shield, protect me.
Jesus lift me up; direct me;
Come alongside me, on my left and on my right.

Today be my core and aroma, gently powerfully
In the heart of those I speak to; and speak to me through them.

Today be my center and encircle me with Your powerful love.
You are my light, my shield.
You are on my left and on my right.

Blessing

Your peace go with me, wherever You take me.
Guide me when I am lost. Protect me when I am scared.
Bring me home rejoicing at the wonders You have shown me.
Bring me home rejoicing once again into my flat.

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.