Invitatory[1]:
“For you, O Lord, are good
and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.” Psalm 86.5-6
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.” Psalm 86.5-6
Prayer for the week: “Almighty God, you richly and unceasingly furnish us
with all good things and preserve us day by day. Make us to acknowledge this with our whole
heart, that we may thank and praise you for your lovingkindness and mercy here
and for evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das jahr der Kirchen, 2nd
ed. Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1948, p.
200).
Bible reading for the day: Psalm 131
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
from this time forth and forevermore.
Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method**): Gracious
and almighty Father, my conscience can be a loud busy-body… but when you are on
the throne there I am indeed calmed and quieted like a contented child with
momma. Thank you! Deliver my heart from its own pride and my conscience from
occupying myself with things that are beyond me. Every hour, every minute, put
Christ on the throne in me conscience that I may have true hope in you… and
diligence and patience for what is right in front of me. In Jesus’ name I ask
this, amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to
today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENtL_li4GbE
I am the Lord your God.
The First Commandment
You shall have no other
gods before me. Exodus 20.3
What
does this mean?
We
should fear, love, and trust God above all things. (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther
©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)
Benediction: May the God
of peace himself grow you in his will entirely; and may your spirit and soul
and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The one who calls you is
faithful, and he will do this. Amen. I Thess 5.23
*There are many patterns for devotions. This pattern has been followed by God’s
people for centuries.
**The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin
Luther prayed and taught others to pray. It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid
Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria , MN
R:
regret (repentance)
I:
intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P:
plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives
one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps
one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.
[1]
As the word implies, an invitatory is a verse that invites or invokes the
Lord’s ear and his work upon you.
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