Morning Prayers Wednesday, 20 May 2020
Greetings
Good morning fellow pilgrims?
God is good?
All the time.
And all the time?
God is good.
Welcome to this morning’s prayers.
Here are opening words
Hail to the Lord of Life,
who animates and inspires us
through the wind of the Spirit.
Alleluia! God is good.
Hail to the Lord of Life,
who turns despair into joy
and death into dancing.
Alleluia! God is good.
Psalm 31: 1–5
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
Psalm 31: 1–5
Psalms in general offer speech when life has gone beyond our frail efforts to control.
The Psalms are an assurance to us that when we pray and worship,
we are not expected to censure or deny the deepness of our own human journey.
We come to the Lord in all our vulnerability; warts and all!
Let us pray:
Living God, we cry out and ask.
How long will we have to hide in our homes from this invisible enemy?
Where will it strike next?
And whom?
And what if …?
Our screens relay a continuous escalation of suffering and death around the world.
Panic and anxiety abounds.
Our souls are weary from the strain of the life-altering unknowns.
Merciful God, from the depths of our pain and confusion, we cry out to you.
From fear-filled hearts and anxious minds, we plead with you.
Rescue us, God of compassion and grace.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayers.
In your hands, dear Lord, is held the whole creation.
It is your gift of fragile wonder.
It is ours to treasure as you do.
It is made more frightening now;
we who have been used to freedom are confined,
we who are used to controlling so much are floundering,
we who expect healthcare to work find it overwhelmed,
we who worship find our churches shut.
Now, we watch and wait and worry.
Grant us your peace today.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayers.
Send us signs of hope in the love that is shared and the kindness shown.
Help us to go gently with ourselves and with others.
Give fortitude and courage to all in the NHS,
all keeping essential shops and industries going,
all sustaining communities and neighbourhoods,
all in authority and power.
Reach out and touch them and us with the hands of your invisible spirit as we ask in Jesus name.
Amen
Friends; the sun is shining, a new day is upon us.
May your day be blessed with love and peace.
Shalom!
Shalom!
