Thursday, July 6, 2023
Opening Prayer:
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
Confession of Sin & Prayer for Grace
Almighty God: I confess with the Psalmist that your law is perfect. The way of your commandments is the way of life; your statutes are full of wisdom. Yet I have violated your law; I have broken your commandments; I have dishonored your name. I ask your forgiveness; and I thank you for sending Jesus, who perfectly obeyed your law and died for my sin so that I might live to righteousness. By Your grace, fill me with Your Spirit, that I might walk in wholehearted obedience to you. Amen.
Old Testament Reading: 1 Samuel 17:38-58
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 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.
New Testament Reading: Romans 7
Prayer of Adoration:
God, I praise you for your good, holy and righteous law, which reveals my sin. Yet I praise you even more for the gospel, which proclaims my freedom from that sin. Thank you for this good news, which has brought me from death to life!
Psalm Reading: Psalm 82
Prayer of Consecration
God, this Psalm contrasts the righteousness of your judgments with the injustice and partiality that are all too common on the earth. So I pray with the Psalmist: “Arise, O God! Judge the earth!” Let not the injustice of this world drive me to despair; rather, as I see injustice, let it cause me to long for your coming and look forward to your judgment. God, the poor and needy need an advocate; the oppressed need a deliverer; the forgotten need One who sees them. And you are that One. So let me praise you for your righteous judgments today, and let me be an instrument of your mercy and goodness in the world. As I see injustice, help me right it; as I see poverty, help me alleviate it; as I see brokenness, make me an agent of restoration. Most of all, help me pray and long for your return. Arise, O God! Judge the earth; for you shall inherit the nations.
BENEDICTION
And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and always, until the day of Christ's return.
