Opening Prayer
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. -Psalm. 33: 20-22 (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. Lord, You give and You take away; Blessed be Your name, O Lord -Job 1:21 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin I pray for all those whom I have in any way sinned against, by word or deed, knowingly or unknowingly. Take away, O Lord, from our hearts all suspiciousness, anger, contention, and all that weakens love of others. Have mercy on me, O Lord, have mercy on all who seek your mercy; give grace to the needy, make us so to live that we may be found worthy to enjoy the fulfillment of your grace and attain to eternal life. -Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471) (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” -John 16: 1-4 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayers for Ourselves and Others For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said, “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God… let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night…. -Nehemiah 1:4-6 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer O God, our Father, help your people to have this mind among ourselves, which is ours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross -Philippians 2: 5-8 |