Daily Prayer, Friday, October 7, 2011

Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord.

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?
….
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.



Psalms 131, 132, 133



Daily Lectionary Reading, Exodus 32:7-14
7 The LORD spoke to Moses: “ Hurry up and go down! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, are ruining everything! 8 They’ve already abandoned the path that I commanded. They have made a metal bull calf for themselves. They’ve bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it and declared, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 The LORD said to Moses, “ I’ve been watching these people, and I’ve seen how stubborn they are. 10 Now leave me alone! Let my fury burn and devour them. Then I’ll make a great nation out of you. ” 11 But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, “ LORD , why does your fury burn against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and amazing force? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He had an evil plan to take the people out and kill them in the mountains and so wipe them off the earth’? Calm down your fierce anger. Change your mind about doing terrible things to your own people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, whom you yourself promised, ‘I’ll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky. And I’ve promised to give your descendants this whole land to possess for all time.’ ” 14 Then the LORD changed his mind about the terrible things he said he would do to his people.


Today's Prayer: O Lord, forgive us for those times that we sought other sources of strength and comfort. Remind us that you have been sheltering us and caring for us and providing for us always. We turn to you in gratitude for your forbearance and continuing undeserved support. And we ask you now to enter our hearts so that we can show that forbearance and support to others who need help and comfort, even those who we judge not to be particularly deserving of our resources or attention. Amen.

Midday Psalm 119:169-176


Evening

Psalms 137, 138, 139