Evening Prayer:

 

In Prayer we do not act, God does

 

Friday January 23rd 2015

 

Said all together except for the sentences marked ‘Call’ which are for the Leader only
+ indicates that you may make the sign of the cross.

 

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

 

Opening sentences
My soul waits for the Lord
more than those
who watch for the morning,
more than those
who watch for the morning.

 

Call: Out of the depths I have cried to You.
Response: O Lord, hear my voice.
Call: With my whole heart I want to praise You.
Response: O Lord, hear my voice.
Call: If you, Lord, should mark iniquities:
Response: Who could stand? who could stand?

 

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

 

Expressions of faith
Lord, You have always given
bread for the coming day;
and though I am poor,
today I believe.

 

Lord, You have always given
strength for the coming day;
and though I am weak,
today I believe.

 

Lord, You have always given
peace for the coming day;
and though of anxious heart,
today I believe.

 

Lord, You have always kept
me safe in trials;
and now, tried as I am,
today I believe.

 

Lord, You have always marked
the road for the coming day;
and though it may be hidden,
today I believe.

 

Lord, You have always lightened
this darkness of mine;
and though the night is here,
today I believe.

 

Lord, You have always spoken
when time was ripe;
and though you be silent now,
today I believe.

 

This Evening’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 138

1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    before the ‘gods’ I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down towards your holy temple
    and will praise your name
    for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
    that it surpasses your fame.
3 When I called, you answered me;
    you greatly emboldened me.

4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord,
    when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing of the ways of the Lord,
    for the glory of the Lord is great.

6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
    though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
    with your right hand you save me.
8 The Lord will vindicate me;
    your love, Lord, endures for ever –
    do not abandon the works of your hands.

 

 Reflection on the reading:

• Read slowly through the passage until you find some words that ‘hold’ you.

• Reflect on those words, turn them over in your mind and your heart

• Respond to them by telling God the thoughts, feelings, questions they evoke

• Rest in and absorb the truth they’re bringing you

•  

Today’s Meditation: Living God-wards

From Eugene Petersen: ‘Run with the Horses’

 

One of the first things that strikes us about the men and women in Scripture is that they were disappointingly nonheroic…Abraham lied; Jacob cheated; Moses murdered and complained; David committed adultery; Peter blasphemed…

            [Yet] the persons we meet on the pages of Scripture are remarkable for the intensity with which they live God-wards, the thoroughness in which all the details of their lives are included in God’s word to them, in God’s action in them. It is these persons, who are conscious of participating in what God is saying and doing, who are most human, most alive.

 

Reflection on the day

Look back over the day. Where have you been aware of God’s presence? Where have you missed opportunities or forgotten that God was with you? What remains unfinished, unresolved? Bring the day back to God and place it into his hands.

 

Thanksgiving and Prayer

 

Canticle

In the shadow of Your wings
I will sing Your praises, O Lord.

 

The Lord is my light, my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the refuge of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

 

In the shadow of Your wings
I will sing Your praises, O Lord.

One thing I ask of the Lord,
one thing I seek;
to dwell in the presence of my God,
to gaze on Your holy place.

 

In the shadow of Your wings
I will sing Your praises, O Lord.

 

I believe I shall see the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living.
O wait for the Lord!
Have courage and wait,
wait for the Lord.

 

In the shadow of Your wings
I will sing Your praises, O Lord.

 

Blessing
See that ye be at peace among yourselves, my children,
and love one another.
Follow the example of good people of old
and God will comfort you and help you,
both in this world
and in the world which is to come.