Evening Prayer for Thursday, 23 July 2020
A reading from Psalm 16
1 Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.’
5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16: 1–2, 5–9 & 11 NIV®
Dear Lord, we pray that you will keep all your people safe this night.
Those who put their trust in you are secure in your loving care.
You give us wise counsel; may we listen only to you, as you speak in our hearts both day and night.
We ask that we may read your word with the understanding that only you can give us.
Guard us and guide us, and do not let us give way to self-interest.
So long as we keep our eyes and thoughts on you, dear Lord, we can be resolute in your service.
We thank you for teachers and pastors who have helped us to come to know you better;
we know that you are far above all human knowledge,
but as we learn more of your ways we also learn to love you more.
We thank you for the delightful inheritance you have bestowed on us:
your wonderful creation, the beauty of nature, our friends and family.
We praise you for all that you have done for us.
As we plan for a life at Cornerstone that moves towards a new, and – we pray –
sustainable normality, we seek your guidance every step of the way.
Help us to ensure that we are including all your people in our worship,
and that, as far as we are able, we leave no-one behind or outside.
Guide our leaders, our Ministers, and the Ecumenical Council,
who meet next week, that they lead us all on your path of life.
May they listen carefully to one another, and may they seek to do your will in all things.
We pray tonight for all those who are sick, or are anxious, are lonely, and all those who mourn.
Guard and guide them all, and shelter then in your eternal love.
We close our prayers this evening by saying together the Grace:
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all, evermore.
Amen
