Thursday, January 26, 2023
Opening Prayer:
O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know my words before I speak them. You know my past, my present, and my future. Awaken me now, to seek you while you may be found, to call upon you while you are near, and to live a life that brings glory to your name.
Confession of Sin & Prayer for Grace
Merciful God: You created me in your image, with a mind to know you, a heart to love you, and a will to serve you. But my knowledge is imperfect, my love inconstant, my obedience incomplete. Day by day, I fail to grow into your likeness. I confess my failure to glorify you as you designed me to. In your tender love, forgive me by the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Strengthen me by your Spirit to walk in a manner worthy of the calling I have received, for the glory of your name. Amen
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 56:1-8
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 4:14-21
Prayer of Adoration:
Lord Jesus: I glorify you because you are the fulfillment of all the prophetic hopes of the Scriptures. In you has come liberty to the captives, sight to the blind, and liberty to the oppressed. What good news this is!
Psalm Reading: Psalm 144
Prayer of Consecration
Lord, I come to this psalm as a student and disciple, ready to learn from David’s pattern of prayer. I recognize in myself the same concerns and desires that animate this prayer. At the beginning of the psalm, David is facing his enemies; he fears trouble. So he turns his meditation to the splendor and might of the Lord. As we pray with him, we see the mountains smoke and the arrows of the God fly like lightning. Then he asks God for household blessing and prosperity. We see a safe, flourishing community with abundant food and healthy children. I, too, recognize in myself the fear of trouble and the desire for security and prosperity. Lord, help me pray like David, with great confidence and intimacy. Where I face trouble today, help me meditate on your greatness. Where I long for security and prosperity, help me lean into your promises of blessing for those who fear you. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! Amen.
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.
