Daily Prayer for Monday, September 14, 2020

“Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven to earth come down…’”        
                                               —-Charles Wesley, 1747

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                                                           Philippians 1:27
Live in a way that is worthy of the gospel.
Stand firm in the Spirit, side by side.

Prayer                                                      Saint Ephraim the Syrian, c. 305-373
O Lord and Master of my life,
give me not a spirit of sloth,
vain curiosity, lust for power, or idle talk.

But give to me, your servant,
a spirit of soberness,
humility, patience, and love.

Yea, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own faults,
and not to condemn my brother;
for blessed are you to the ages of ages.  Amen.

Hymn of the Day
Amazing Grace, by Martin Gross, on dobro.  Listen and pray. 

Reading of the Day                                              1 Peter 4: 1-6
1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), 2 so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. 3 You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme. 5 But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.

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. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Pray also for residents of the west coast, that they would be safe from the fires which are ravaging the land.  Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God.

Benediction
Whatever you do, in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God through him.
Amen.   ​