Day 153 | Wednesday, 19 August 2020

Day 153 - Audio Version

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Day 153  |  Wednesday, 19 August 2020  -  Noontime Prayer

  A Beginning
“A Gift of a new day, unlived, untried, ready to be opened.  A new day with surprising miracles; with love to be given, kindness to be shared and peace to be enjoyed.  A gift of a new day, God’s gift to us.  Let us receive tit with joy and live it in expectation.”

 An Invocation:
“Precious God surround us with your presence so we may breathe deeply of this moment and discover a fountain of joy, a river of light, a stream of hope. 
Precious God come in word and silence, in song and prayer, and lead us to the heights of glory.

Precious God visit us now with your peace and power that makes all things new.  Renew the earth and renew us by your grace.  Amen”

 A Prayer of Confession:
“Holy God, like a loving father and caring mother, you watch over us and beckon us to follow the right path. But we get stuck: stopped by our fear of trying something new, trapped by our memories of past failures, caught in a web of conflicting choices, halted by the clamor of many voices. We know the distress of worry and the blur of tears. Like staring at an empty page, we feel trapped and hesitant. Free us, O God, to follow with joyful steps, to hear clearly your directions, to be bold in our loving, courageous in our caring and brave in our speaking. Through our Lord, Jesus. Amen”

 An Affirmation: Heart
(Psalm 7:10; 13:5; Jeremiah 31:33; Matthew 6:21; 12:34; Ephesians 3:16-17)

“We believe God is our shield, who saves the upright in heart. Our hearts shall rejoice in our salvation.

We believe God has made a new covenant, as promised by his prophet, "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

We believe that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. We believe that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

We believe that, according to the riches of his glory, God will grant that we may be strengthened in our inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith, as we are being rooted and grounded in love.”

 A Prayer for Learning:
“Loving God, you sent your Son to be our rabbi and teacher. He taught crowds and disciples, he welcomed children and the outcast. His teaching was not formal, yet it was profoundly life changing.

Help us to pay attention to each lesson we receive - from stories in the Bible to events in our lives. We learn in different ways, O God. Do not let us be closed when a new lesson comes, do not let us think we have all the right answers, help us not to be one-dimensional people.

Give us a depth of faith that opens us to new lessons every day. Amen.”

 A Blessing:
“Let God love you. Lean on the everlasting arms. Let God love you. Lean on the Holy Spirit. Let God love you. Let Jesus into your hearts. Amen.”

 Quotation:
“God is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. This is our hope for becoming better men and women. This is our mandate for seeking to make a better world.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
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TODAY _ Prayers for Herb Cook