Opening Prayer
“You are my portion, Lord”, says my soul; Therefore I will wait for You. You are good to those who wait for You, to the soul who seeks You. It is good to hope silently for Your salvation -Lamentations 3:24-26 (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah -Psalm 24: 7-10 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin Forgive me my sin O Lord, for “you are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you. -Psalm 86: 5-7 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” -Mark 8:31-33 (Think deeply on the life and words of Jesus) Prayers for Ourselves and Others Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to You. -Psalm 6:1 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer “O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want You; I long to be filled with longings; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me and lift me up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name. Amen” -A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) |