#MorningPrayer
You entrust us with so much, Lord;
you give us so much freedom
in our response to all that you are doing.
We have it in our power
to work with you or against you.
Show us when we go wrong
in using the liberty that you give us,
and help us to seek the kingdom today.
#MorningPrayer
In the power of
your Holy Spirit, Lord,
your disciples
were enabled to speak
in the languages
of those around them;
instil in us the ability
and the awareness
to communicate
your love, your grace,
your life, your gospel,
to those among whom
we live, love and serve.
#MorningPrayer
You choose us, Lord,
to be witnesses to
your love, your peace, your mercy,
whatever life throws at us, good or bad.
Challenge us, especially
when people are suffering,
to embody your love
and work for the justice
of your kingdom,
that all may know
your consolation.
#MorningPrayer
The apostles were told, Lord,
after your ascension,
to take their eyes from
watching for your return
and get on with the mission
they’d been given;
challenge our thinking,
and repurpose our understanding,
that our focus may be
on sharing your love,
with all,
today.
#MorningPrayer
Encourage us, Lord,
to make constant love
for one another
the hallmark of our lives.
Whether things
are going well or badly,
however we feel
we are journeying
on our path of life,
let your love for us
be the bedrock of our lives,
the heartbeat of all things,
today.
#MorningPrayer
Bless us, Lord, in our woundedness,
for we are all wounded in various ways;
grant us to know that we do not have to get rid
of the things about us that bear those wounds,
in order for us to be acceptable to you.
Help us to remember that you bring
healing and peace.
#MorningPrayer
Instil in us, Lord, a desire
to understand more and more
the depth of your love,
the richness of our relationship
with you and with our fellow disciples.
Let us never be content
to think we know all we need to know
but keep us exploring with you,
pilgrims together.
#MorningPrayer
Give us a proper humility, Lord,
grounded in confidence
that we are valued
and cherished by you;
may our being held in love,
keep us from any need
to have or use power
or status over others
for our own ends;
rather help us seek
the wellbeing
and flourishing
of all.
#MorningPrayer
Teach us, Lord,
the importance
of rhythm and rest
in our lives.
You kept sabbath
in the work of creation,
and commanded us
to do the same.
Even after your
death on the cross,
your disciples kept sabbath.
Teach us to embrace
your will for our lives,
and find peace.
#MorningPrayer
Give us the grace, Lord,
the inner strength of faith,
the spiritual stamina we need,
to bear well the cost of our discipleship.
Whether this day’s journey is easy or hard,
whether we face opportunity or opprobrium,
help us remain true
to your call and
your kingdom.
#MorningPrayer
Lord, inspire in us
the faith
that kept Mary Magdalene
close to you,
even when all seemed lost;
the openness to you
which enabled her
healing and peace;
the generosity by which
she gave all she had
in your service;
the courage that made her
Apostle to the Apostles.
#MorningPrayer
Fill our hearts, Lord,
with your love,
and fill our minds
with your thoughts,
that we may approach life
with your perspective,
respond to others
with your grace.
Help us grow
into the culture
of your kingdom,
to seek the peace
you promise,
to be a blessing
to all.
#MorningPrayer
Release us, Lord,
from the temptation
to use position, authority,
power, or influence
merely for own own ends,
not to care for others
or the common good.
In the choices before us today,
large or small,
guide us to those
decisions and actions
which embody
your love.
#MorningPrayer
We all have power, Lord, whether
positional power, relational power,
emotional power, situational power,
the power of yes, the power of no,
the power to choose actions,
responses, or attitudes;
help and guide us
to use our power,
however small,
to reveal
your love.
#MorningPrayer
Give us the courage, Lord,
openly to acknowledge, affirm and attest
our faith in you, our hope in you,
without duplicity or denial.
May our attitudes and actions,
our disposition and our deeds,
make clear to all
that we are your disciples,
as we live out your love.
#MorningPrayer
Keep us, Lord,
close to you
in all things;
develop our resources
and deepen our resolve
to open our hearts and minds,
our living and loving,
to your will.
Give us the strength
and the stamina we need
to be faithful;
truly to pray,
deeply to listen,
for your wisdom.
#MorningPrayer
Give us, Lord,
the wisdom, humility,
understanding and sense
to know that we must meet
the challenges and opportunities
of our life’s journey
not just in our own strength
but in yours.
Lift our vision
from ego and tribe
to calling and kingdom;
guide us in your way.
#MorningPrayer
Give us, Lord,
a vision of your greatness,
a vision of love
which empties itself,
pours out itself
in the blessing of others,
shows its greatness
in taking up a towel
and washing feet.
Help us to see
how we can emulate
and live out this love
in our context, today.
#MorningPrayer
Keep the eyes and ears
of our hearts and minds
open to your voice, Lord,
open to hear and understand
your word to your people,
as you lead us into new life
in the abundance of your love.
Where we are anchored
to things other than you,
release us and reorientate us.
#MorningPrayer
Lord, remind us
that you gather us
around your table
not as a council
of perfection and purity,
but as sinners
in need of redemption,
needing healing
in ourselves,
our motives,
our relationships
and our understanding.
Give us grace
to see one another
as you see us.
#MorningPrayer
Lord, keep us
focused on, and faithful to,
our relationship with you,
that in all our plans,
in all our purposes,
we may remain true
to you, to your way,
to your kingdom.
Keep is also true
to one another,
as companions
on the road
of discipleship,
service
and love.
#MorningPrayer
Keep us alert, Lord,
to the signs of your kingdom;
a kingdom which is
already and not yet,
a kingdom which is
among us, between us,
and just beyond us,
to which we journey
as pilgrims on your way.
Lift our eyes to your vision,
and set our course
for our true home.
#MorningPrayer
Lord, give us
the faith, strength,
courage and resolve
to follow your will,
your way, your wisdom,
even if it means letting go
of things in which we have invested
our self, security, or certainties.
May we trust our whole selves to you,
as you give your all for us.
#MorningPrayer
Whatever the context we inhabit, Lord,
whatever the circumstances,
whatever the challenges,
whatever the prospects,
whatever the opportunities,
may we ever live as who we are;
living stones in the temple of your glory,
revealing by our lives the love that saves us.
#MorningPrayer
Save us, Lord,
from becoming people
who love to develop
clever arguments
to debate and discuss,
more than we love other people.
Save us from becoming people
who love to be seen and lauded,
more than we love
being quietly generous.
Inspire our desire
to be like you.
#MorningPrayer
You call us, Lord,
into a pilgrimage
of promise, purpose,
and passion.
Strengthen us
when we encounter
the storms, difficulties,
obstacles and challenges
of that journey,
to remain faithful to you
and the vision you set before us,
steadfast in living out your love.
#MorningPrayer
Lift our gaze, Lord;
may we never be so fixed
on the minutiae of materialism,
that we fail to appreciate
the character of your kingdom,
fail to see through
the lens of your love.
Inform and inspire our imagination,
uplift our understanding,
pour into us your peace.
#MorningPrayer
Remind us always, Lord,
that we must not confuse
the priorities of the world
with the priorities of your kingdom;
help us all to deliver daily
on your manifesto
of mission and ministry,
to invest our resources
in your legacy of love,
as we build community together.
#MorningPrayer
You call us, Lord,
to tend your vineyard well,
and to care for its people;
guide us in all the decisions we take,
and all the choices we make,
that we may seek
the furtherance of your mission,
the wellbeing of your people,
the health of your world,
the common good.
#MorningPrayer
Give us, Lord,
an openness to your leading
and an awareness of your timing,
that we may respond
to your call upon our lives
in obedience to your will.
Give us hearts that set
the needs of others
above our narrow self-interests,
the good of all
above a focus inward.
#MorningPrayer
Lord, help us to know,
to understand,
to passionately desire
and to purposefully pursue,
the things that make for peace,
that individuals, families,
communities and nations
may enjoy the peace
you will us to enjoy.
May we seek not
division and discord,
but harmony.
