Daily Prayer and Scripture – March 28, 2015

Daily Common Prayer

As we move through lent this year we invite you to a practice of prayer and scripture that will connect you with God and to other past and present. For more info on the Book of Common Prayer check out the introduction at the end of this post.

March 28, 2015

Amos the Prophet Unlike other Old Testament messengers, Amos was not a professional prophet; he had no special training, nor was he related to any other prophets. He was a peasant farmer and sheep tender called by God for a special mission. A native of the southern kingdom of Judah, Amos received a powerful commission from God to preach to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel. In the first half of the eighth century BC, during a time of great expansion and prosperity in Israel, Amos spoke out against the economic injustices between urban elites and the poor. Rich landowners were acquiring money and land, taking advantage of small farmers and peasants. Although Amos was not wealthy, he was sent to warn the wealthy and invite them back into the good way of God’s justice.

Rain down justice upon us, Lord: that we might live in peace.

Psalm 133

Oh, how good and pleasant it is: when brethren live together in unity! It is like fine oil upon the head: that runs down upon the beard, upon the beard of Aaron: and runs down upon the collar of his robe. It is like the dew of Hermon: that falls upon the hills of Zion. For there the LORD has ordained the blessing: life for evermore.

Rain down justice upon us, Lord: that we might live in peace.

Amos spoke out, saying, “Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring ruin to the poor of the land. I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Prayers for Others

Our Father

We give thanks, God, for the prophets who love us enough to tell us your hard truth. Show us where we need your words for our repentance and conversion, and teach us how to always speak your truth in love. Amen.

To practice the whole Daily Common Prayer, you can click here (it includes daily scripture, prayers and reflections)


Introduction to the Book of Common Prayer

Christians have been singing and praying and worshiping together for thousands of years. We can sometimes forget that and view our worship, our prayers as something we do on our own…private.

This year during the Lent season, we want to dive into an exciting, new (for us!) practice…of praying prayers with people around the world, from diverse places, traditions, denominations. We’re going to do this from what is called “The Common Prayer” (www.commonprayer.net), a book with prayers and scriptures for every day, called a “liturgy”.

Liturgy (literally means “the work of the people”) is a communal response to the sacred. Its something we do together, as a way to ground ourselves TOGETHER in Christ.

Every day you will have the chance to join people…in all parts of the world, praying some of these very same prayers. There is strength in numbers, and there is a powerful sense of unity that can come as people from diverse places and circumstances pray together, even though they have never met, and don’t even speak the same language.

We also want to encourage you to do this in community….whenever possible.

So maybe you want to find a common time in your home to pray these prayers and read these scriptures together, or include them at the beginning of your cell gatherings…to remind us that we are NOT on this faith journey alone, but are meant to live our lives in community.