Daily Prayer – December 18
(Download PDF For Today’s Daily Prayer Guide)
Setting aside even a brief time each day to pray helps us create a stable spiritual center in our lives. This guided prayer is largely based on the Morning, Noon and Evening Prayer cycle found in the Book of Common Prayer.
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Online Text Version
INSTRUCTIONS: The underlined text are headings and do not need to be read. [Brackets] are instructions to be followed but not necessarily read. (Parentheses) are references and not to be read. FOR INDIVIDUAL PRAYER: I suggest you read the prayer sheet aloud, but reading silently is fine too. Don’t pay any attention to the Bold Italic Type. FOR GROUP PRAYER: have one person act as leader. The leader reads the regular print and everyone reads the Bold Italic Type together.
Daily Prayer for December 17
Opening Sentences:
Fill our hearts with the joy of your saving grace, that we may hold fast to your great goodness, and in our lives proclaim your justice in all the world.ff
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn…to give them a garland instead of ashes, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. (Isaiah 61:1-3)
Praying Together
O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia.
Confession: (Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt)
Dear Father in heaven, we come into your presence as imperfect, sinful children, who do many foolish things and who are involved in much that is evil and corrupt.
We come to you, Father, knowing that your fatherly love is with us through all eternity. Be gracious to us and free us from all the harm and injury we are bound to suffer in this earthly life.
May the grace your kingdom brings on earth finally blot out the sins of all people, so that as your children they may rejoice because you have helped them.
May your name be praised among all people. Amen.
From Psalm 65:1-2
Praise is due to you, O God in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed,
O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.
[Silent Prayer; or Music may be listened to; or a Hymn is sung.]
Prayers of the People:
Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. [Silent Prayer]
We pray, Heavenly Father, that the peace that your Son lived and preached be evident in all the world. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. [Silent Prayer]
We pray, Holy Comforter, for the aged and infirm, for the widow and the orphan, and for the sick and the suffering. May they be comforted in your amazing grace. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. [Silent Prayer]
Shed your holy light, precious Savior, on all who need your love and care this day. Let your tenderness and love envelope them so they cannot miss how much they are loved. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
[Silent Prayer]
We pray, O Lord, your hedge of protection around all those in dangerous circumstances: the homeless, the drug addicted, those in shelters and those fleeing from oppressive governmental regimes. May they find refuge in you, Father God. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. [Silent Prayer]
We pray traveling mercies for all those who journey during this holiday season. Keep them safe on the roads, and from the unseen enemy that surrounds us. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. [Silent Prayer]
Merciful God hear our prayer as we pray together:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Closing prayer:
Bless our lives, dear Lord, as we continue with our day in service to you. May we love you more dearly, hear you more clearly, and follow you more nearly today and always. Amen.
ff From Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, Consultation on Common Texts.
Image: Joy to the World!, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56347 . Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/babasteve/31844535845/.
Music Selection from The Hymnal Project
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