Prayer Upon Rising
I thank you, O living and eternal King, for you have graciously given me another day to serve you. You are forever faithful and abounding in compassion! May your kingdom reign this day in my life and my home. I acknowledge you as Lord, and declare myself your servant.
Preparation
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust. Psalm 25:1a
Come, O Lamb of God, to Save
Come, O Lamb of God, to save
Our hearts are chilled with fear
Raise our souls from torpid daze
And send Thy Spirit near
Enflame our spirits by Thy power
Our zeal to persevere
Give life and breath to passive saints
To truth that You hold dear
Refrain
We rise to Thee from bended knee
To do whate’er You say
We give our love, our hearts, our all
Your summons to obey
We love Thy law, O precious Lord
It brightens ev’ry path
In it we see Thy perfect rule
Thy mercy and Thy wrath
Refrain
Roar forth, Thou King of Judah’s seed
That we might never fall
Give strength and might
That we may heed
Thy sacred royal call
Refrain [1]
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
My strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14
The Word of God
Psalm 105:16-22
Refrain: Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
16 He called for a famine on the land.
He destroyed the food supplies.
17 He sent a man before them.
Joseph was sold for a slave.
18 They bruised his feet with shackles.
His neck was locked in irons,
19 until the time that his word happened,
and the LORD’s word proved him true.
20 The king sent and freed him,
even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.
21 He made him lord of his house,
and ruler of all of his possessions,
22 to discipline his princes at his pleasure,
and to teach his elders wisdom. R
Silence may be kept.
O God Eternal, who is always mindful of your covenant, and who delivered the seed of Abraham from the slavery of Egypt, from the waves of the sea, from the rage of Pharaoh, from the thirst and famine of the wilderness, continue like mercies to all your people; deliver us from the bondage of our sins, and preserve us in the Ark of the Church, that we perish not in the waves of this troublesome world; save us from all our earthly and spiritual enemies, feed us with food from heaven, and give us enough on earth, that we may gladly keep your statutes, observe your Laws, and so imitate your Son. Grant this, we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[2]
Leviticus 21:1-16
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they make holy to me, and that they not profane my holy name. I am the LORD.
3 “Tell them, ‘If anyone of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things which the children of Israel make holy to the LORD, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am the LORD.
4 “ ‘Whoever of the offspring of Aaron is a leper or has a discharge shall not eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man who has a seminal emission, 5 or whoever touches any creeping thing whereby he may be made unclean, or a man from whom he may become unclean, whatever uncleanness he has— 6 the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things unless he bathes his body in water. 7 When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread. 8 He shall not eat that which dies of itself or is torn by animals, defiling himself by it. I am the LORD.
9 “ ‘They shall therefore follow my commandment, lest they bear sin for it and die in it, if they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
10 “ ‘No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. 11 But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and those who are born in his house shall eat of his bread. 12 If a priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of the holy things. 13 But if a priest’s daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s bread; but no stranger shall eat any of it.
14 “ ‘If a man eats something holy unwittingly, then he shall add the fifth part of its value to it, and shall give the holy thing to the priest. 15 The priests shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the LORD, 16 and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt when they eat their holy things; for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’ ”
Proverbs 22:17-19
17 Turn your ear, and listen to the words of the wise.
Apply your heart to my teaching.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you,
if all of them are ready on your lips.
19 I teach you today, even you,
So that your trust may be in the LORD.
A song may be sung
Mark 8:22-26
22 He came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him, and begged him to touch him. 23 He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village. When he had spat on his eyes, and laid his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything.
24 He looked up, and said, “I see men; for I see them like trees walking.”
25 Then again he laid his hands on his eyes. He looked intently, and was restored, and saw everyone clearly. 26 He sent him away to his house, saying, “Don’t enter into the village, nor tell anyone in the village.” [3]
Speak to my heart of your steadfast love, for in you I trust.
Cause me to know the way that I should go, for to you I lift up my soul Psalm 143:8
Prayers
Prayers may include these concerns:
– All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
– Those in the midst of famine or disaster
– Victims of abuse, violence, and prejudice
– Those whose are bereaved
– All who work in the medical and healing professions
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer
Silence may be kept.
The Collect of the day or the following is said
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Conclusion
May Christ our redeemer bring us healing and wholeness.
You are the light of the minds that know you,
The joy of the hearts that love you
and the strength of the wills that serve you;
Your service is perfect freedom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. after Augustine of Hippo (430) [4]
(The pdf of these prayers may be downloaded here.)
[1] Music by Jeff Lippencott | Words by R.C. Sproul | Album: Glory to the Holy One, “Come, O Lamb of God, to Save”
[2] after THE PSALTER OF DAVID WITH Titles and Collects according to the matter of each PSALME. OXFORD, Printed by Leonard Lichfield, Printer to the University. 1644.
[3] all Scripture from the World English Bible: British Edition (WEBBE)
[4] N. Andrew Long. The Offerings of Our Lips: Prayer in Community. Nampa, ID: In(habit) Media, 2017.
Long-ing For Life 