Morning Prayer Friday, 16 October 2020
Good Morning, friends!
Today our invitation to prayer is in Psalm 5: 1–8:
Listen to my words, Lord,
consider my inmost thoughts;
heed my cry for help,
my King and God.
For to you I pray in the morning knowing you will hear me.
In the morning I lay my requests before you
and keep watch expectantly.
You are not a God who welcomes wickedness;
evil can be no guest of yours.
The arrogant will not stand in your presence;
you hate all evil doers,
you make an end of liars.
The Lord abhors those who are violent and deceitful.
But through your great love
I may come into your house
and at your holy temple bow down in awe.
Lead me Lord in your righteousness and protect me
because I am beset by enemies.
Give me a straight path to follow.
Psalm 5: 1–8
It’s been a week of disruption, turmoil and uncertainty.
Politicians are discussing internal borders enforced by police.
We are faced with maps in various shades of red,
where the least perilous areas are designated ‘medium’ because there is no low.
Navigating a route through the events of the day
means keeping your eyes on the prize of evening’s peaceful rest.
Let’s begin this morning in God’s protection.
O Lord, who knows me well from the inside out,
let me walk beside you as I set out on this new day.
Freshen up my memory of how I should act around other people
so we can all safely negotiate society today.
Help shielders and isolators walk the straight path of your companionship
to ease their loneliness.
On this fresh Friday give us all joy in our hearts.
Amen
There was a twentieth-century American artist called Warner Sallman,
famous for producing Christian art.
When I was young every Christian home had a print of the ‘Head of Christ’ (painted in 1940)
or ‘Christ at Heart’s Door’.
You may never have heard of him
but I’m sure you would recognise these works if you check the internet.
With my parents’ US Navy history, we had a print of Sallman’s ‘Christ our Pilot’ above the TV:
a picture of Jesus guiding a sailor through a stormy sea.
This picture went alongside my Mom’s favourite expression.
If you asked, ‘Dorothy, how are you?’ she would reply, ‘Well, I’m navigating today’.
So many people knew her for this that at her funeral it was a form of greeting amongst everyone. This phrase is how I best remember her.
O Lord lead us all in your righteousness.
Give our leaders good judgement and clear thinking
that they may provide truth and good governance.
Protect all people of service whose lives are spent in the midst of the pandemic.
Help us all to recognise the danger set round the poor.
Give us courage to press authority to prioritise poverty and its reduction.
O Lord lead us all into a greatness of hope.
Amen
Have a good morning and a purposeful day full of Blessing.
Keep navigating in the way of the Lord!
Cheryl Montgomery
