Daily Prayer, July 15, 2001

Friday, July 15
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name (Psalm 86:11)

Morning
Invitatory Psalm 118
O Lord, we give thanks to to you, for you are good;
 your steadfast love endures forever!
….
Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?
….

Psalms 131, 132, 133

Daily Lectionary Reading, Genesis 28:10-19a

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and set out for Haran. ¹¹ He reached a certain place and spent the night there. When the sun had set, he took one of the stones at that place and put it near his head. Then he lay down there. ¹² He dreamed and saw a raised staircase, its foundation on earth and its top touching the sky, and God’s messengers were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ Suddenly the LORD was standing on it and saying, “ I am the LORD , the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants will become like the dust of the earth; you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. Every family of earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants. ¹⁵ I am with you now, I will protect you everywhere you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done everything that I have promised you. ”

¹⁶ When Jacob woke from his sleep, he thought to himself, The LORD is definitely in this place, but I didn’t know it.¹⁷ He was terrified and thought, This sacred place is awesome. It’s none other than God’s house and the entrance to heaven.¹⁸ After Jacob got up early in the morning, he took the stone that he had put near his head, set it up as a sacred pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He named that sacred place Bethel.  [Common English Bible]

Prayer for Today:

As we move to unfamiliar places, make us aware that you await us there and you accompany us on that journey. Remind us that you are always with us, when we are awake and when we are asleep. Remind us that you are always with us, even when we don't recognize your presence. Remind us of the promises you have made to us that you will not leave us. Amen.

Midday Psalm 119:169-176

Evening
Psalms 137, 138, 139