Each week for this season our devotions will be centered around the practice of PRAYER. Like the disciples we too have the opportunity to ask Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” We encourage you to read all prayers and Psalms out loud – let the words of Scripture fill your prayers!
Prayer of Confession
Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, whose face is hidden from us by our sins, and whose mercy we forget in the blindness of our hearts: cleanse us from all our offenses, and deliver us from proud thoughts and vain desires, that with reverent and humble hearts we may draw near to you, confessing our faults, confiding in your grace, and finding in you our refuge and strength; through Jesus Christ your Son.
Psalm 95
1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord;
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are all the depths of the earth,
and the heights of the hills are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and fall down,
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
8 Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts
as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my works.
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation and said,
“It is a people that err in their hearts, for they have not known my ways,”
11 Of whom I swore in my wrath
that they should not enter into my rest.
Scripture Memory
Memorizing Scripture is a great way to allow God’s word to transform you. Take these small sections of our passage and say them outloud. Then look away and test yourself; can you say it without looking? Good job!
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Romans 12:9–11 (NRSV)
Thanksgiving Prompt
What family or Church members are you most grateful for? Write about what makes them special.
Collect Prayer
Collect Prayers are written prayers that have been used by the Church for centuries. These succinct prayers are designed as a way for the Church to pray together throughout time and space, in different ways throughout the seasons. Pray these prayers out loud with us!
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in continual godliness, that through your protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly serve you in good works, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.