Morning Prayer: Fri, 28 Oct – Psalm 119:145-152; Habakkuk 2:1, 3; Romans 10:13-15 ~ waiting here for you

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Sentence

I have come to seek You, O God, just as I am I come.
I have come to be sought by You, just as I am I come.

I will wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in His word do I hope.

Reading: Psalm 119:145-152 (NLT)

I pray with all my heart; answer me, Lord! I will obey your decrees.

I cry out to you; rescue me, that I may obey your laws. I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words. I stay awake through the night, thinking about your promise. In your faithful love, O Lord, hear my cry; let me be revived by following your regulations.

Lawless people are coming to attack me; they live far from your instructions. But you are near, O Lord, and all your commands are true. I have known from my earliest days that your laws will last forever.

Reading: Habakkuk 2:1, 3 (NLT)

I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard-post. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint.
_____

This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.

Reading: Romans 10:13-15 (NLT)

For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
__________

Prayer: Cedd (620-664)– on honest reflection

Listen,
+ hear the Word behind the word.

Listen,
+ sensing when the spirit’s stirred,
+ there is healing in the waters
if God’s touch is what you seek.

We must wait,
and know God’s moment,
listen well before we speak.

Listen,
+ and let the silence cradle you.

Listen,
+ for the Voice that’s speaking through
all the chaos of the talking
and the Babel that divides.

And in waiting for
God’s moment
that in peacefulness decides,

Listen
+ God is not in a hurry.
__________

“Waiting Here for You” – Christy Nockels

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Morning Prayer: Thu, 27 Oct – Psalm 119:144; Deuteronomy 32:47; Luke 7:1-7 ~ the laws of long life

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Sentence

I have come to seek You, O God, just as I am I come.
I have come to be sought by You, just as I am I come.

I will wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in His word do I hope.

Reading: Psalm 119:144 (NLT)

Your laws are always right; help me to understand them so I may live.

Reading: Deuteronomy 32:47 (NLT)

These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River.”

Reading: Luke 7:1-7 (NLT)

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”

So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.
__________

Prayer:

Lord God: You are the giver of life; Your laws are always right!

+ Give me understanding, Lord, and I shall enjoy a long life in the place You have given me.

+ Give me understanding, Lord, and I will welcome Your word into my life.

+ Give me understanding, Lord, and I will receive Your power into my life.

+ Give me understanding, Lord, and I will realize Your word within my life.

+ Give me understanding, Lord, and I will tell others the good news of what You have done for me.

Lord God: Speak Your word in me and through me to a world that is dying for want of knowledge of You. Send forth Your word and heal them. Let Your glory be over all the earth.
__________

“Be Exalted, O God” – Church on the Green, Sun City West, AZ

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Morning Prayer: Wed, 26 Oct – Psalm 119:141-143; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Matthew 11:25-26 ~ too smart for my own good

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Sentence

I have come to seek You, O God, just as I am I come.
I have come to be sought by You, just as I am I come.

I will wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in His word do I hope.

Reading: Psalm 119:141-143 (NLT)

I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts. Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true. Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.

Reading: Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NLT)

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Reading: Matthew 11:25-26 (NLT)

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”
__________

Prayer for Child-like Faith:

Lord Jesus: You bid me to come to you with child-like faith; but that’s not easy for me to do at my age. Bring me back to the basics, Lord, and strip away the baggage that I have accumulated over the years that prevent me from drawing ever closer to you.

+ Give me child-like innocence – that I may trust you in all things.
+ Give me simplicity of understanding – that I may follow your plain teaching.
+ Give me an open mind – that my decision-making may not be clouded by preconceived notions.
+ Give me a joyful spirit – that I may forget myself with light-hearted abandonment.
+ Give me a sense of wonder – that I may be awed by the majestic splendor of your creation.
+ Give me the gift of faith – that I may believe that all things are possible with you.
+ Give me an awareness of my own smallness – that I may live humbly before you.
+ Give me a child’s contentment with small things – that I may live simply, in a spirit of continual gratitude for all you have given me.

Lord Jesus: may I delight in you every day, in every way – to your honor and glory. Amen.
__________

“God Knows Me” – St Andrew’s Church, Kildwick

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Morning Prayer: Tue, 25 Oct – Psalm 119:137-140; 2 Kings 10:16-17; Matthew 23:1-13 ~ on going forward

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Sentence

I have come to seek You, O God, just as I am I come.
I have come to be sought by You, just as I am I come.

I will wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in His word do I hope.

Reading: Psalm 119:137-140 (NLT)

O Lord, you are righteous, and your regulations are fair. Your laws are perfect and completely trustworthy. I am overwhelmed with indignation, for my enemies have disregarded your words. Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much.

Reading: 2 Kings 10:16-17 (NLT)

Then Jehu said, “Now come with me, and see how devoted I am to the Lord.” So Jehonadab rode along with him.

When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he killed everyone who was left there from Ahab’s family, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.

Reading: Matthew 23:1-13 (NLT)

sara-hudson-in-panama — Senior friend In Panama helping Christian mission to indigenous mountain people.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

“Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.
__________

Prayer: Ita (480-570) – in fostering courage

I have set my heart on going forward,

+ do not ask me to turn back. Traveling uncomfortably in the right direction, I will not let middle age overtake me; I will not let old age overcome me.

+ Keep me out of any rut of my own making, and from the grave of habitual failings.

Keep me flexible and eager to serve.
__________

“I Will Follow” – Chris Tomlin

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Morning Prayer: Mon, 24 Oct – Psalm 119:136; Isaiah 5:1-4; Luke 13:34; 19:41 ~ tears of sorrow

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Sentence

I have come to seek You, O God, just as I am I come.
I have come to be sought by You, just as I am I come.

I will wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in His word do I hope.

Reading: Psalm 119:136 (NLT)

Rivers of tears gush from my eyes because people disobey your instructions.

Reading: Isaiah 5:1-4 (NLT)

Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill. He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter.

Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard. What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?

Reading: Luke 13:34; 19:41 (NLT)

Statue of Jesus Weeping at St. Joseph’s Church near the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me….”
_____

But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.
__________

Prayer

Lord God:

Fill me with your sorrow and compassion for those who disobey and even flaunt your law.

+ Touch my heart with the sorrow of your broken heart, that I may love the lost.

Your law is good, and just, and given to care for and tend the people you love.

+ Conform my life to your Kingdom rule, that I may demonstrate your love to the lost.

Call out in me again a willingness to love and serve you.

“Sovereign Over Us” – Worship Mob

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

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