Daily Prayers Friday, 28 October 2022
Welcome to our Friday prayers.
Today, we begin with a Psalm of praise.
Psalm 65 vv1-4,9-14
1 Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who answer prayer,
to you all people will come.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave our transgressions.
4 Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.
9 You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it.
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.
Last Sunday, we celebrated Harvest. George explained, from the experience of his own family, the contrast between our expectations in the West and the lives of those who live in rural Africa. Something important for us to remember as we face more difficult economic times. We know that many people are finding life a challenge, as the cost of living increases and their income remains the same, or in some cases is reduced. Nevertheless, few of us can imagine what it must be like never to know when food will next be available, and when having favourite food is an unknown concept, because just having food regularly is an unexpected blessing. So, even in these challenging times, we need to thank God for his generosity to us.
So, prompted by this Harvest celebration, we pray for all who work in the food industry, on land or at sea. We ask you to keep them safe and to know that the role they play is valued.
We thank you for those who process, distribute and sell or deliver our food. When we are disappointed to find an empty shelf because something we had hoped to buy is unavailable, remind us that other people may be glad just to know that they have something to eat.
We pray for everyone who is hungry and does not know when they will eat next or where their next meal will come from, and those for whose suffering is exacerbated by watching their friends and family in distress.
We pray for people everywhere who do not have enough to eat day by day; for those who have experienced crop failures or where an unpredictable climate means they can never be sure of a good harvest year on year.
We pray for those who work for aid agencies which aim to bring relief to hungry people and to offer them a glimmer of hope for the future.
Loving God, help us to be thoughtful and to act responsibly in the way we buy and prepare our food. Teach us not to be wasteful and to remember that all we have comes from you and that it is our responsibility to share with those who need it most.
We ask all our prayers in the name of Jesus.
Amen
Now. Let’s join together a harvest hymn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNukvd9er2Q
Praise God for the harvest of orchard and field,
praise God for the people who gather their yield,
the long hours of labour, the skills of a team,
the patience of science, the power of machine.
Praise God for the harvest that comes from afar,
from market and harbour, the sea and the shore:
foods packed and transported, and gathered and grown
by God-given neighbours, unseen and unknown.
Praise God for the harvest that’s quarried and mined,
selected and smelted, or shaped and refined:
for oil and iron, for copper and coal,
praise God, who in love has provided them all.
Praise God for the harvest of science and skill,
the urge to discover, create, and fulfil:
for plans and inventions that promise to gain
a future more hopeful, a world more humane.
Praise God for the harvest of mercy and love
from leaders and peoples who struggle and serve
with patience and kindness, that all may be led
to freedom and justice, and all may be fed.
Brian Wren
Words © 1974, 1996 Hope Publishing Company,
Rosemary Kearsey
