Daily Prayers for July 30

William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833)

William Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian in eighteenth-century England, dedicated his life to abolishing slavery. In 1780, Wilberforce was elected to Parliament. After an experience of spiritual rebirth, Wilberforce began to see his life’s purpose: to use his political life in the ser-vice of God. He believed that there was no evil greater than the institution of slavery. “Let the consequences be what they would,” he wrote. “I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition.” In 1798, he began his campaign: speaking, circulating flyers and petitions, and introducing bills in Parliament. In 1806, Wilberforce managed to get a bill in Parliament passed that prohibited slavery in all British colonies. By the time Wilberforce died in 1833, Parliament had finally passed a bill that would free all slaves throughout the British Empire.

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 “Amazing Grace”

Give us holy boldness, Lord : to struggle for justice until we die.

Psalm 144:9 – 12

O God, I will sing to you a new song : I will play to you on a ten-stringed lyre.

You give victory to kings : and have rescued David your servant.

Rescue me from the hurtful sword : and deliver me from the hand of foreign -peoples,

whose mouths speak deceitfully : and whose right hand is raised in falsehood.

Give us holy boldness, Lord : to struggle for justice until we die.

1 Sam-uel 10:1 – 16 Acts 28:1 – 16

Give us holy boldness, Lord : to struggle for justice until we die.

A few words from William Wilberforce: “Never, never will we desist till we have wiped away this scandal that is slavery from the load of guilt under which we at present labor, and until we have extinguished every trace of this bloody traffic which our posterity will scarcely believe had been suffered to exist so long, a disgrace and dishonor to our country.”

Prayers for Others

Our Father

Stir our hearts that we might have the holy boldness to struggle for justice until we die. Give us visions larger than those we create for ourselves. And root us in humility, Lord, that we might climb toward your heights through ser-vice. 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.