Praying at home today:
That we may cherish God’s law in our heart and actions

Skip introduction

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’s optional!

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.

Short reading

The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip.

Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius,
et non supplantabuntur gressus ejus.

La loi de son Dieu est dans son cœur,
ses pas ne faiblissent pas.

Psalm 36(37):31

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

• 1 Samuel 10:17-25; Psalm 36(37):23-40; Hebrews 6:13-20

Separate links to each reading

• 1 Samuel 10:17-25
• Psalm 36(37):23-40
• Hebrews 6:13-20

Short Reflection

Yesterday we saw that the people of Israel wanted a king, despite Samuel’s warning about people with power.

Here the story is amplified: they have rejected God in favour of a fellow human being to rule over them.

Lots are drawn (an established way of determining God’s will) and first Benjamin’s tribe is chosen of all the clans, then the family of Matrites and finally Saul, from that family.

This all seems very confusing: we read earlier in 1 Samuel 10 that Samuel had anointed Saul king in secret, and so this scene seems to have been merely a public “election”.

In later chapters, the people still seem undecided.

Perhaps this episode is some small comfort to us when we don’t know what we want and are perhaps ungrateful for when we get what we ask for. If they could get such a big decision wrong, then perhaps there’s some hope for us!

The story continues tomorrow.
Meanwhile, as our Short reading says, 

The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip.

May we keep God’s law in our hearts today and every day.

advertisement

Buy from Amazon – print copy or e-book (Kindle)

Music for reflection

Prayer Suggestions

As the Church celebrates the life of Henry Martyn (Priest & Missionary 1812),
we continue our journey in faith today:

• for peace and tolerance between people of different cultures
• for those in government and for business leaders
  that they may act justly and for the common good
• for all who inspire us.

(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for Christians in Iran.)

For all who have asked for our prayers.

a moment of silence

Pray for us all
Amen.

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.

The Lord’s Prayer

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

Pater noster, qui es in cælis;
sanctificetur 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.

La Prière du Seigneur (2017)

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 offenses,
comme nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous laisse pas entrer en 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.

L’Église Catholique de Paris

Concluding prayer

Almighty and merciful God:
in your goodness keep from us all that is harmful;
that, being ready both in body and soul,
we may freely accomplish your will;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.

Pentecost 21

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 Bookshop.org

Praying at Home Today: Acknowledgements

The lectionary for weekdays is taken from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library.

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 usually 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 usually 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.

advertisement

Affiliate disclosure

This website is free to use but it is not cheap to run.
If you make a purchases by clicking links on this website, these will cost you no more than buying directly from the supplier; we may receive a small commission, which helps with the costs of maintaining and running this website.
Praying at Home (part of The Art of Music) is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

Liturgy | Lectionary | Celtic Spirituality
Amazon Music Unlimited (30 days free)