Daily Prayer for Wednesday, September 2, 2020

“Take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose…”        
                                                    —-Frances Ridley Havergal, 1874

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                                                                Romans 13: 10
Love does no wrong to a neighbor;
love is the fulfillment of the law.

Prayer                                                         Celtic oral tradition - 1st millennium
You are the peace of all things calm
You are the place to hide from harm
You are the light that shines in dark
You are the heart's eternal spark
You are the door that's open wide
You are the guest who waits inside
You are the stranger at the door
You are the calling of the poor
You are my Lord and with me still
You are my love, keep me from ill
You are the light, the truth, the way
You are my Savior this very day.

Hymn of the Day
Qui Tollis, from Gloria, George Frederic Handel, sung by Emma Kirkby with the Royal Academy of Music Baroque Orchestra.  Listen and pray. 

Reading of the Day                                                                 1 John 4: 7-21
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

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. Please pray for Mark Sabala, working with Covid patients as a nurse, Marcy Szeliga, working as a case investigator and contact tracer, for Sylvia Washer, for Jeanette and her family who’ve been heavily impacted, and for all who have been recently diagnosed with- or are recovering from- the virus.  Pray for all members of the John Knox family, for each of us has been impacted in some way.  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
Love one another; serve the Lord;
live peaceably with all.
Amen.