MORNING
OPENING PRAYER
I awake this morning in the
presence of the holy angels of God.
May heaven open wide before me and around me,
that I may see Christ and his sunlit company in all the things of earth this day.
Amen.
May heaven open wide before me and around me,
that I may see Christ and his sunlit company in all the things of earth this day.
Amen.
You, Lord are a shield about me;
you are my glory and the
lifter of my head.
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PSALM
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INTERCESSIONS
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Kindle in my heart, O God,
a flame of love for my
neighbour,
for my friend, for my enemy,
for my kindred all,
from the humblest thing that
lives,
to the Name that is highest of
all.
Kindle in my heart a flame of
love.
PRAYER
Advent
God, our hope and our desire, we wait
for your coming as a woman longs for the birth,
the exile for her home, the lover for
the touch of his beloved, and the humble poor for justice.
Janet Morley, Christian Aid
Christmas
Blessed art thou, O
Christmas Christ,
that thy cradle was so low
that shepherds,
poorest and simplest of
earthly folk,
could yet kneel beside it,
and look level-eyed into the
face of God.
Anon.
Lent
Father in heaven! When the thought of
thee wakes in our hearts let it not awaken like a frightened bird that flies
about in dismay, but like a child waking from its sleep with a heavenly smile.
Amen.
Soren Kierkegaard
Soren Kierkegaard
Easter
God of terror and joy, you
arise to shake the earth.
Open our graves and give us
back the past;
so that all that has been
buried
may be freed and forgiven,
and our lives may return to
you,
through the risen Christ.
Janet Morley
CLOSING PRAYER
Safeguard me
in the sanctuary of your love,
O God.
Shelter me this day
in the shelter of the saints.
God to enfold me
God to surround me
God in my watching
God in my hoping
God in my sleeping
God in my ever-living soul.
EVENING
OPENING PRAYER
Christ stands before me and
peace is in his mind
Sleep, O sleep in the calm of
all calm
Sleep, O sleep in the love of
all loves
Sleep this night in the God of
all life.
Lighten our darkness, Lord we pray, and in
your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, for the
love of your only Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
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"God beholds with his
merciful eyes not what I am, nor what I have been -- but what I would be."
Adapted from
The Cloud of Unknowing. 14th Century
PSALM
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INTERCESSIONS
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Keep watch, dear Lord, with
those who wake, or watch or weep this night, and give your angels charge over
those who sleep.
Tend the sick, give rest to the weary, sustain the dying, calm the suffering, and pity the distressed; all for your love’s sake, O Christ our Redeemer. Amen
Tend the sick, give rest to the weary, sustain the dying, calm the suffering, and pity the distressed; all for your love’s sake, O Christ our Redeemer. Amen
PRAYER
Advent
O God of the stars and the night skies
May your light be coming
through thick clouds this night
on me and on everyone,
coming through dark tears
on each one in need and in suffering
Christmas
O God, the source of all
insight,
whose coming was revealed to
the nations
not among men of power
but on a woman’s lap;
give us grace to seek you
where you may be found, that the wisdom of this world may be humbled and so we may discover your unexpected joy,
through Jesus Christ.
Janet Morley
Lent
Give me a candle of the
Spirit, O God,
as I go down into the deeps of
my being.
Show me the hidden things,
the creatures of my dreams,
the storehouse of forgotten
memories and hurts.
Take me down to the spring of
my life,
and tell me my nature and my
name.
Give me freedom to grow,
so that I may become that
self,
the seed of which you planted
in me at my making. Out of the depths I cry to you, O God.
Jim Cotter. (Prayer at Night. Cairns
Be present, O merciful God,
and protect us through the silent hours of his night, so that we, who are
wearied by the changes and chances of this fleeting world, may rest upon your
eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Easter
Dear Jesus, as a hen covers
her chicks with her wings to keep them safe, do thou this night protect us
under thy golden wings. Amen
Prayer from India
CLOSING PRAYER
I end this day as the Son of
Mary would end it.
The grace of God be on this
place and on all whom God has given me.
Who keeps watch over us this
night?
Who but the Christ of love.
