Oh - I am so glad to see some comments and know I have some company!
Morning has always been my favorite time of the day - especially for praying.
I've been taking my "Book of Common Worship" over to church. It has a morning prayer service, with a psalm (I've just been using 51) and a different prayer for each day of the week. Want to see Wednesday's?
(they all start with this:)
Satisfy us with your love in the morning
and we will live this day in joy and praise.
God of all mercies, we praise you that you have brought us to this new day,
brightening our lives with the dawn of promise and hope in Jesus Christ.
Especially we thank you for
The warmth of the sunlight, the wetness of rain and snow, and all that nourishes the earth. . . .
The presence and power of your Spirit . . .
The support and encouragement we receive from others . . . (!)
Those who provide for public safety and well-being . . .
The mission of the church around the world . . .
Merciful God, strengthen us in prayer that we may lift up the brokenness of this world for your healing, and share in the saving love of Jesus Christ.
Especially we pray for
Those in positions of authority over others . . .
The lonely and forgotten . . .
Children without families or homes . . .
Agents of caring and relief . . .
The church in Asia and the Middle East. . . .
Eternal God,
you never fail to give us each day all that we ever need,
and even more.
Give us such joy in living and such peace in serving Christ,
that we may gratefully make use of all your blessings,
and joyfully seek our risen Lord
in everyone we meet.
In Jesus Christ we pray.
The Lord's Prayer.
And it ends with
May we continue to grow in the grace and knwoledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen
Bless the Lord.
The Lord's name be praised.
At each of the ". . . " I try to fill in with something specific, if I can. Or be still for a few seconds, at least. And as the week goes on, I find the "prompts" in the prayers (different each day) really do remind me of prayer concerns in the congregation, my family and the world.
Is having a shared prayer helpful? I'll post Thursday's tomorrow, just in case.
3 comments:
Yes, Cindy, your shared prayer is very helpful. Bless you and keep up your blog for those of us that need a little nudge.
Jan -
I had a little "let down" over the weekend, enjoying Chris, and then letting him go home. You know how that is, don't you?
I appreciate the shared prayers, too. I like the help finding ways to be thankful and something other than my usual "thank you so much for..." or "please Bless...". I wonder if perhaps a good prayer is kinda like a good sermon--it makes you think, it inspires your own ideas and hopefully makes you do something a little better.
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