Daily Prayers for February 20
Frederick Douglass (1818 – 1895)
Frederick Douglass was born a slave in Maryland. His mother died shortly after his birth, and he was raised by his grandparents. A resourceful youth, he learned how to read and write by giving away food in exchange for reading lessons from neighborhood kids. Before long he was able to teach other slaves to read the Bible through weekly Sunday schools. In 1838, at the age of twenty, Douglass escaped from slavery by impersonating a sailor and went on to become one of the most famous abolitionists and leaders in US history. He was a firm believer in the equality of all -people, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant. He was fond of saying, “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”
O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you
as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Come, let us sing to the Lord : let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Song “Woke Up This Mornin’ ”
Lift us by awe at the things we see : to set our minds on none but thee.
Psalm 104:25 – 31
O Lord, how manifold are your works! : in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things too many to number : creatures both small and great.
There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan : which you have made for the sport of it.
All of them look to you : to give them their food in due season.
You give it to them; they gather it : you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
You hide your face, and they are terrified : you take away their breath, and they die and return to their dust.
You send forth your Spirit, and they are created : and so you renew the face of the earth.
Lift us by awe at the things we see : to set our minds on none but thee.
Genesis 37:12 – 24 Hebrews 10:11 – 25
Lift us by awe at the things we see : to set our minds on none but thee.
Frederick Douglass wrote in his autobiography, “Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference — so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
-Jesus, even in our waking, grant us dreams by which to guide our lives. Make us to dream of justice for the oppressed, reunions for those torn from loved ones, hospitality for immigrants, and the healing of all wounds. Amen.
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.
