Praying at Home Today: Thursday 24 September 2020
Praying at home today: what will tomorrow bring?
A warm welcome to PrayingAtHome.com, where you can find worship resources for praying at home today or wherever you are.
We hope these readings, prayers, music and the short reflection will help you stay in touch with the Church and to sustain you on your journey through life.
If this is your first visit to this website, then you might like to read about the common elements and the suggested structure for each day’s prayer.
Everything is optional!
We follow the Track 2 “related” Old Testament reading and psalm (or equivalent response).
Opening to the Word
You can spend a few moments in silence,
focussing on your breathing
to become more mindful of the present moment
and to open yourself more fully
to God’s presence within you.
In the name of the living God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Short reading
Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring.
Qui ignoratis quid erit in crastino.
Vous qui ne savez pas ce qui arrivera demain!
James 4:14
The Liturgy of the Word *
Here are today’s Bible readings.
You can read just one, or all three if you have time.
One link to all three readings
Separate links to each reading
Short Reflection
Even in the darkness, there are signs of hope
Our readings today (from the Daily Lectionary) have more doom and gloom for God’s people. (It’s not always like this, even if it sometimes seems like it!)
Ezekiel’s prophesy that the devastation to come upon Israel isn’t, as the false prophets say, some years off; it’s imminent.
The false prophets, saying what they think the people want to hear (rather than what they need to hear), offer platitudes, mixed messages, thus confusing people and giving them a false sense of security.
The future is uncertain
The Apostle James writes,
Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring.
And that is true. In a sense, we only have the present moment. Yes, we should prepare for the future (no ostriches, please!), but we can’t rely on this preparation.
And ultimately, the only time we have is the time right now. And you and I have chosen to spend it in prayer, in communion with the God who is present to us in the depths of our being.
Even gloomy Ezekiel had some words about that:
I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.
Ezekiel 37:14
So as today’s image shows, despite the dead flowers, there are signs of life and hope just around the corner, if we only look for them.
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Prayer Suggestions
We pray today for the Spirit of consolation and of hope.
We pray for those who fear what the day will bring.
We thank God for those who bring hope to our world.
We thank God for families who have adopted a child, giving a fresh start for a fragile life.
And we pray for students starting university at this time.
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we pray today
for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and their advisers.)
We pray for all who have asked for our prayers.
a moment of silence
Pray for us all.
Music for reflection *
The head that once was crowned with thorns
is crowned with glory now;
a royal diadem adorns
the mighty victor’s brow.
The highest place that heaven affords
is his, is his by right,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
and heaven’s eternal Light;
The joy of all who dwell above,
the joy of all below
to whom he manifests his love,
and grants his name to know:
To them the cross, with all its shame,
with all its grace, is given;
their name an everlasting name,
their joy the joy of heaven.
They suffer with their Lord below,
they reign with him above,
their profit and their joy to know
the mystery of his love.
The cross he bore is life and health,
though shame and death to him,
his people’s hope, his people’s wealth,
their everlasting theme.
Thomas Kelly (1769-1855)
The Lord’s Prayer
We can say the Lord’s Prayer in any language or version we choose.
Here it is, in English, Latin and French.
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.
Pater noster, qui es in cælis;
sanctificatur nomen tuum:
adveniat regnum tuum;
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in cælo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie:
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris:
et ne nos inducas in tentationem:
sed libera nos a malo.
Quia tuum est regnum,
et potestas, et gloria, in saecula.
Amen.
Notre Père qui es aux cieux,
que ton nom soit sanctifié.
Que ton règne vienne.
Que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donne-nous aujourd’hui notre pain de ce jour.
Pardonne-nous nos offences
comme nous pardonnons aussi
à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,
mais délivre-nous du mal.
Car c’est à toi qu’appartiennent le règne,
la puissance et la gloire
pour les siècles des siècles. Amen.
Concluding prayer
Spirit of God,
Comforter of the afflicted,
present with us now,
give us a sure and certain hope
in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ
that where he has gone we dare hope to follow.
Amen.
Returning to the world
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Benedicamus Domino.
Deo gratias.
Thank you for joining us in praying at home.
Oremus pro invicem.
In these strange times, we are called to trust
* You can find more organ music from Holy Trinity Church, Stirling
on Alistair Warwick‘s website and on SoundCloud
There are several books by Brother Roger of the Taizé Community from many booksellers.
You can buy The Complete Chronicles of Narnia at Amazon
Other worship resources
Praying at Home Today: Acknowledgements
* Beginning with the week after Pentecost, the lectionary for weekdays is taken from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library. Currently, we’re following the semi-continuous readings (Track 1).
In that lectionary, the readings are in the following order: Old Testament reading, Psalm, New Testament reading; we have changed the order to the more usual OT, Psalm and NT.
English Bible texts are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Latin Bible texts are from Biblia Sacra Vulgata, and are in the Public Domain.
French Bible texts are from Version Segond 21, copyright © 2007 Société Biblique de Genève by Société Biblique de Genève.
Images, unless otherwise stated, are from lockdown in Scotland, by Alistair Warwick.
Music engraved by The Art of Music.
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