Daily Prayer for Friday, March 26, 2021

​“Ride on! Ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die; bow thy meek head to mortal pain, then take, O God, Thy power, and reign.”     
                                                                      Henry Hart Milman, 1827

Preparation for worship
Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit.  Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship…

Opening Sentences                                                              Psalm 46:1—3
God is our refuge and our strength,
a present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear.

Prayer                                                         Wild Goose Worship Group, 2000
Lord God,
in the world where goodness and evil
continue to clash with each other,
instill in us, and in all your people,
    discernment to see what is right,
    faith to believe what is right,
    and courage to do what is right.
Keep us aware of the subtlety of sin,
and preserve us, body, mind and soul,
through the power of your Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Hymn of the Day                            
Oh Freedom, by the Golden Gospel Singers.  Listen and pray.  

Reading of the Day                                                               John 12:12—19
12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord--
    the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
    Look, your king is coming,
       sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. 17 So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. 18 It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. 19 The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

Prayers for self and others
Please pray today for those who are being affected by Covid-19 and by its side effects in our world, and of course for all those who have been affected by the winter storms.   Please continue to pray for Mark Sabala, working as a nurse with Covid patients.  Pray for those who are far away from us— far from us on the map, or far from us in our hearts.  Remember our unity as the beloved children of God.  Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God.

Benediction
Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of Christ,
of Christ the light of the world to you.
Deep peace of Christ to you.