Nightly Prayers – April 9, 2020
First Prayer
Dear God,
As the day comes to a close, we are reminded of the command to love one another as you love us. We give you thanks for that love.
Just as Jesus extended a hand to others, you call us to serve. For those in our hospitals, in our assisted living facilities, in our airports, in our grocery stores, we give you thanks for their hands. For their ears. For putting themselves out there. And for all others, Lord, who cannot work from home, who serve in other ways, thank you.
Our world is hurting. A world full of blame, shame, anger, hostility, and nervousness. Calm our fears, Lord. Calm our anxieties. Open our ears to hear you. And bend down to hear the prayers for:
Insert prayer concerns here
Cleanse our hearts, O Lord. Cleanse our minds, God. We pray all of this in Christ’s name, the one who washes the feet of his disciples, the one whose love extended beyond the margins, the one who taught us to pray, saying, “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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
Submitted by:
Second Prayer*
Where charity and love are, there is God.
Where charity and love are, there is God.
The Love of Christ has gathered us as one.
Let us rejoice and be glad in him.
Let us fear and love the living God
And in purity of heart let us love one another.
Where charity and love are, there is God.
When therefore we are gathered together
Let us not be divided in spirit.
Let bitter strife and discord cease between us;
Let Christ our God be present in our midst.
Where charity and love are, there is God.
With all the blessed may we see forever
Thy face in glory, Jesus Christ our God.
Joy that is infinite and undefiled
For all the ages of eternity.
* At the Feet Washing, Maundy Thursday, Western Rite)
Source: The Oxford Book of Prayer. Edited by George Appleton. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 200.
