Guided Daily Prayer (Series 2)

December 11, 2023
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Instructions: The underlined text are headings and do not need to be read. [Brackets] are instructions to be followed but not necessarily read. FOR INDIVIDUAL PRAYER: I suggest you read the prayer sheet aloud, but reading silently is fine too. FOR GROUP PRAYER: have one person act as leader. The leader reads the regular print and everyone reads the Bold Italic Type together.

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Second Monday of Advent ● Guided Daily Prayer

Opening Sentences:
Thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, “I dwell in the high and holy place and also with the one who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15)

Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (BCP,1979)

Praying Together:
Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. (from Psalm 100)

Prayers of Confession
[If the Guide is used in group prayer, the leader begins by saying “Come, let us offer our confession and seek God’s forgiveness together.”]

Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. Forgive and renew us by your mercy and love. Amen. (adapted from BCP,1979)

Words of Assurance:
Sisters and Brothers, great is God’s lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our transgressions from us. (from Psalm 103)

Scripture Reading Based on Psalm 27:1-5

¹The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

²When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.

³Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

⁴One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

⁵For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.

 

[Silent Prayer / or Music may be listened to / or a Hymn is sung.]

Prayers of the People:

“With all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord, saying “O Lord, hear our prayer.”

For all who suffer from poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice, come quickly to their aid. Let us pray to the Lord. O Lord, hear our prayer. [Silent prayer.] *

Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit; give them courage and hope in their troubles, and bring them the joy of your salvation, let us pray to the Lord. O Lord, hear our prayer. [Silent prayer.]

For those who spend their lives in service to God and others, let us pray to the Lord. O Lord, hear our prayer. [Silent prayer.]

Fill our worship with joyful expectation for the coming of the Christ child. Let us pray to the Lord. O Lord, hear our prayer. [Silent prayer.] *

For our individual and special prayers this day, we lift them up to the Lord. [Silent Prayer]

The Lord’s Prayer:

“Hear us, O Lord, as we pray together:”

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, for ever and ever. Amen.

Closing Prayer:

In this season of Advent, O Lord, call us from the margins to a place of hope and healing. Strengthen us to be companions to the estranged and a voice for the voiceless, as we joyfully anticipate the birth of Jesus Christ. Amen. (based on RCL Prayers)

[Full Texts for Today: Isaiah 26:7-15; Psalm 27; Acts 2:37-42; Matthew 3:1-12 ]