Evening Prayer:

 

In Prayer we do not act, God does

 

Monday January 19th 2015

 

Said or sung 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.

 

Today’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 139

1 You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,’
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand –
    when I awake, I am still with you.

19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

 Reflection on the psalm:

• Read slowly through the psalm 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: God is the Centre

From Eugene Petersen: Run with the Horses

 

‘Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you.’ (Psalm 139:16 The Message)

No child is just a child. Each is a creature in whom God intends to do something glorious and great. No one is only a product of the genes contributed by parents. Who we are and who we will be is compounded with who God is and what he does…

Our lives are not puzzles to be figured out. Rather, we come to God, who knows and reveals to us the truth of our lives. The fundamental mistake is to begin with ourselves and not God. God is the centre from which all life develops.

 

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.

 

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