An Order for Morning Prayer
The Daily Office is an ancient way of praying at set times throughout the day that has helped Christians center their days around attentiveness to God. People practicing the daily office might pray simply in the morning and evening, or as many as seven times throughout the day. What follows is an order for praying at the beginning of the day. If you are praying with someone else, one person can read the regular text and the other can read the bolded words.
Call to Worship – Psalm 51:15
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Opening Prayer
New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Psalm Reading – Psalm 95:1-7
O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
O come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
Scripture – Colossians 3:12-13
“Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Scripture Reflection
Getting dressed is something we have to do every day. It isn’t something we do once and for all time. Each day, even though we got dressed the previous day, we have to do so again.
This passage from Colossians invites us to do the same thing with the virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. As we live out 50 days of kindness, this is a helpful reminder that we cannot choose once to be kind and let that carry us for the rest of our lives. Each day, we have to decide again to be kind, even if we were kind yesterday.
Today, choose again to be kind. Our action step for today is to tell a friend what you love about their children. Which friend will you choose to share this act of kindness with today?
Prayers for the Church, Others, and Ourselves
Take a moment to offer prayer for the people and situations God places on your heart.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.
Sending Forth
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us. Amen.
