Prayer during the Day

Prayer during the Day
18 February 2023 at 10 am

O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

A prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all, to you be glory and praise for ever. You founded the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. In the fullness of time you made us in your image, and in these last days you have spoken to us in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us let the light of your love always shine in our hearts, your Spirit ever renew our lives and your praises ever be on our lips,

Blessed are you, Lord our God, you turn the shadow of death into morning and renew the face of the earth: to you be praise and glory for ever. You roll the darkness from the face of the light, making the night to pass that brings on the day. You have lightened our eyes that we sleep not in death, delivering us from the terror by night, from the pestilence that stalks in the darkness. You have driven sleep from our eyes and slumber from our eyelids. You make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy, for we lay down and slept and rose up again and you, Lord, have made us dwell in safety.

We awoke, and look, our sleep was sweet to us.

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God for ever.

Canticle

A Song of Deliverance

1	Behold, God is my salvation; ♦ I will trust and will not be afraid;
2	For the Lord God is my strength and my song, ♦ and has become my salvation.
3	With joy you will draw water ♦ from the wells of salvation.
4	On that day you will say, ♦ 'Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;
5	Make known his deeds among the nations, ♦ proclaim that his name is exalted.
6	Sing God's praises, who has triumphed gloriously;♦ let this be known in all the world.
7	Shout and sing for joy, you that dwell in Zion, ♦ for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.'

Isaiah 12.2–6

A Song of God's Greatness

1	Bless the Lord, O my soul. ♦ O Lord my God, how excellent is your greatness!
2	You are clothed with majesty and honour, ♦ wrapped in light as in a garment.
3	The sun knows the time for its setting. ♦ You make darkness that it may be night.
4	O Lord, how manifold are your works! ♦ In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
5	When you send forth your spirit, they are created,♦ and you renew the face of the earth.
6	May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; ♦ may the Lord rejoice in his works;
7	I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; ♦ I will make music to my God while I have my being.

Psalm 104.1,2,21b,22a,26,32,33,35

A Song of David

1	Blessed are you, God of Israel, for ever and ever,♦ for yours is the greatness, the power, the glory, the splendour and the majesty.
2	Everything in heaven and on earth is yours; ♦ yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head over all.
3	Riches and honour come from you ♦ and you rule over all.
4	In your hand are power and might; ♦ yours it is to give power and strength to all.
5	And now we give you thanks, our God, ♦ and praise your glorious name.
6	For all things come from you, ♦ and of your own have we given you.

1 Chronicles 29.10b–13,14b

A Song of God's Blessing

1	God be gracious to us and bless us ♦ and make his face to shine upon us,
2	That your way may be known upon earth, ♦ your saving power among all nations.
3	Let the peoples praise you, O God; ♦ let all the peoples praise you.
4	O let the nations rejoice and be glad, ♦ for you will judge the peoples righteously and govern the nations upon earth.
5	Let the peoples praise you, O God; ♦ let all the peoples praise you.
6	Then shall the earth bring forth her increase, ♦ and God, our own God, will bless us.
7	God will bless us, ♦ and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Psalm 67

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

1	Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦ who has come to his people and set them free.
2	He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦ born of the house of his servant David.
3	Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦ to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us.
4	To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦ and to remember his holy covenant.
5	This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦ to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6	Free to worship him without fear, ♦ holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
7	And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦ for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8	To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦ by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9	In the tender compassion of our God ♦ the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10	To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦ and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68–79

The Magnificat, the Song of Mary

1	My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; ♦ he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
2	From this day all generations will call me blessed;♦ the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.
3	He has mercy on those who fear him, ♦ from generation to generation.
4	He has shown strength with his arm ♦ and has scattered the proud in their conceit,
5	Casting down the mighty from their thrones ♦ and lifting up the lowly.
6	He has filled the hungry with good things ♦ and sent the rich away empty.
7	He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, ♦ to remember his promise of mercy,
8	The promise made to our ancestors, ♦ to Abraham and his children for ever.

Luke 1.46–55

A Song of the Blessed

1	Blessed are the poor in spirit, ♦ for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2	Blessed are those who mourn, ♦ for they shall be comforted.
3	Blessed are the meek, ♦ for they shall inherit the earth.
4	Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, ♦ for they shall be satisfied.
5	Blessed are the merciful, ♦ for they shall obtain mercy.
6	Blessed are the pure in heart, ♦ for they shall see God.
7	Blessed are the peacemakers, ♦ for they shall be called children of God.
8	Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, ♦ for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5.3–10

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Scripture Readings

Genesis 35 NIV page 38

1Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”

2So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no-one pursued them.

6Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

8Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth.

9After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.

11And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. 12The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.

14Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.

16Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have another son.” 18As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.

19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.

21Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

23The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.

24The sons of Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin.

25The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah:
Dan and Naphtali.

26The sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher.

These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

27Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Psalm 66 NIV page 581

1	Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
2	Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!
3	Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
4	All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.”

5	Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf!
6	He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him.
7	He rules for ever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him.

8	Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;
9	he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
10	For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.
11	You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
12	You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.
13	I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfil my vows to you—
14	vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15	I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats.

16	Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.
17	I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.
18	If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
19	but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.
20	Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Philemon NIV page 1198

1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

2To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:

3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. 7Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

8Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—10I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

12I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favour you do will be spontaneous and not forced. 15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good—16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

22And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.

25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Prayers

Gracious God, fountain of all wisdom, 
we pray for all Christian people;
for Bishops Christopher, Justin, and Rosemarie, for all Christian leaders,
and for those who teach and guard the faith … 
May the word of Christ dwell richly in our hearts,
and knit us together in the bond of your love.
Hear us, good Lord.
Hear us, good Lord.

We pray for the leaders of the nations,
and for those in authority under them … 
Give them the gift of your wisdom,
and a right discernment in all things.
Hear us, good Lord.
Hear us, good Lord.

We pray for the London Borough of Sutton;
for those who live and work here,
and for those who visit this place … 
Speak your word of peace in our midst,
and help us to serve one another as Christ has served us.
Hear us, good Lord.
Hear us, good Lord.

We pray for those who do not believe,
and yet who long to know you, the very Word of life … 
Open their ears to hear your voice,
and open their hearts to the knowledge of your love in Christ.
Hear us, good Lord.
Hear us, good Lord.

We pray for those bowed down with grief, fear or sickness,
especially … 
May your living Word bring comfort and healing to all those in need.
Hear us, good Lord.
Hear us, good Lord.

We give thanks for all those who have died in the faith of Christ
and we rejoice with all your saints,
trusting in the promise of your word fulfilled.

Lord of life, hear our prayer,
and make us one in heart and mind
to serve you with joy for ever. 
Amen.

For the peace that comes from God alone,
for the unity of all peoples,
and for our salvation,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the Church of Christ,
for Rosemarie, Christopher and Justin our Bishops, [for … ]
and for the whole people of God,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the nations of the world, [for … ,]
for Charles our King and for all in authority,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For this town of Sutton,
for our neighbours and our friends,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the good earth which God has given us,
and for the wisdom and will to conserve it,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the aged and infirm,
for the widowed and orphans,
for the sick and suffering,
and for all in any need,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the poor and the oppressed,
for the unemployed and the destitute,
for prisoners and captives,
and for all who remember and care for them,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the dying, for those who mourn,
for the faithful whom we entrust to the Lord in hope,
as we look forward to the day
when we share the fullness of the resurrection,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

Rejoicing in the communion of [… and of all] the saints,
let us commend ourselves, and one another,
and all our life, to God.

Silence is kept.

For yours is the majesty,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory,
now and for ever.
Amen.

Open prayer may be offered.

The Collect for the second Sunday befoe Lent

Almighty God, you have created the heavens and the earth and made us in your own image: teach us to discern your hand in all your works and your likeness in all your children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things, now and for ever.
Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

As our Saviour has taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.

The Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Thank you for worshipping with us today.
We hope you will join us again soon.

Please email saintbarnabasvicar@gmail.com for general enquiries.

Saint Barnabas Church

Sutton