Praying at Home Today: Tuesday 29 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
Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands towards your most holy sanctuary.Exaudi, Domine, vocem deprecationis meae dum oro ad te;
dum extollo manus meas ad templum sanctum tuum.Ecoute mes supplications quand je crie à toi,
quand je lève mes mains vers ton sanctuaire.
Psalm 27 (28):2
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
Samson and Delilah
In Judges 13 we read about Samson who was conceived when least expected; his unnamed mother had been barren when a messenger from God told her that she was to take no wine or strong drink and that she would conceive.
Before the boy was born he was consecrated by this same vow, and consequently became a Nazirite (cf. Numbers 6), with ritual prohibitions on drinking from the grape, from cutting his hair and from eating anything unclean.
Thus came about Samson’s reputation for a great strength that was divine in origin, attributable to the spirit of God.
When his wife Delilah, bribed by the Philistine lords, tries to persuade him to reveal the source of his strength, he misleads her.
Eventually, after some nagging, he tells the whole truth: if his hair is cut he will lose all his strength. And so he is betrayed by the one he loves.
His seven locks* of hair are cut and he falls into the Philistines’ hands.
Paul speaks out about those who proclaim the Gospel for the wrong reasons
Whilst praising the Philippians for proclaiming the Gospel, the Apostle Paul also warns that some do so out of envy and rivalry.
He maintains here that this does not matter so much, as the Gospel is being proclaimed regardless of people’s intentions.
Not that this can be any excuse for acting for the wrong motives, but perhaps what this is saying for us today is that God can redeem our half-hearted attempts and that we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves when we are unable to give 100%.
* It was interesting to read that the modern religion of Rastafari has links with the tradition of the Nazirite vow taken by Samson, including their life-style of avoiding cutting their hair. Indeed some Rastafari have concluded that Samson had dreadlocks, from the description that he had seven locks on his head.
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Prayer Suggestions
On this day when we celebrate St Michael & All Angels, we thank God today for those who bring God’s peace to our world.
We pray for the many places of conflict in our world
and for a change of heart
among those who would bring war and devastation on so many peoples.
We pray for teenagers as they learn to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we pray today
for our Altar Servers: Jim, Brian, Mike & Suzanne.)
We pray for all who have asked for our prayers.
a moment of silence
Pray for us all.
Music for reflection *
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
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord let God’s face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord uncover God’s face to you and bring you peace.
Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26
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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