Daily Prayer for Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise…
                                                              —-Robert Robinson, 1758

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 146: 9
The Lord watches over the strangers;
God upholds those who are in need.

Prayer                                                                  Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
O loving God,
to turn away from you is to fall,
to turn toward you is to rise,
and to stand before you is to abide forever.
Grant us, dear God,
in all our duties your help;
in all our uncertainties your guidance;
in all our dangers your protection;
and in all our sorrows your peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.     

Hymn of the Day
Bruce Springsteen sings “This Little Light of Mine.”  Rejoice and pray! 
 
Reading of the Day:                                                          Romans 1: 16-25 
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21 for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools; 23 and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Prayers for self and others
Please pray today for those who are being affected by COVID 19. Today please pray for those who notice both the resurgence of the virus and the relaxed attitude toward distancing, and who worry about a true crisis.  As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here.  Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God.

Benediction:
Be watchful,
stand firm in your faith,
be courageous and strong.
Let all that you do be done in love.
Amen.     ​