Thursday, February 23, 2023
Opening Prayer:
O Lord, you have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn me away in anger. Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
Confession of Sin & Prayer for Grace
O Lord, you promise to work all things for my good, Yet I confess that instead of delighting in your grace, I find reasons to be unhappy. I have filled my life with busyness and scheduled myself into exhaustion. I have been quick to judge others and slow to forgive them. Open my eyes to Your glory which is all around me, and to Your love which is smiling through all things. Renew in me a sense of wonder in You and your good creation. Amen.
Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:15-17 & 3:1-7
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: Luke 4:1-13
Prayer of Adoration:
I praise you, Lord Jesus, for your obedience to the Father; for your strength in temptation; and for your resistance to the devil. Because of your humility, I follow you as my example. Because of your faithfulness, I love you as my King. Because of your triumph, I worship you as my God.
Psalm Reading: Psalm 6
Prayer of Consecration
Thank you, Lord, for giving me prayers and psalms that teach me to express repentance. I live in a culture that dreads even the idea of guilt, and goes to great lengths to self-justify. But there’s a deeper wisdom in repentance that allows me to speak the truth about myself to you. Knowing that you’ve already seen and made provision for my sin, I can lay my burden down. Even in my troubled state, I can follow the path of David, who didn’t hide from you, but knew you well enough to appeal for your mercy. Thank you that just as you heard his weeping, you also hear mine. As you accepted his prayer, so you accept mine, through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Where I need to make amends to others, help me do so. Where I need to change my actions, help me do so. Fill my inner person with the sense of your loving presence to an ever-increasing degree, so that my most familiar sins become alien to me. Make them bitter, and yourself sweet, for Jesus’ sake.
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.
