Daily Prayers for November 1
All Saints
Since its earliest centuries, the church has set aside a day to remember the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us in the faith, stretching across the centuries and around the globe. However hard it might seem to follow the way of -Jesus in our own time and place, this is a day to remember that we may be crazy, but we are not alone.
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 “When the Saints Go Marching In”
Heaven and earth are full of your glory : Hosanna in the highest!
Psalm 8
O Lord our Governor : how exalted is your name in all the world!
Out of the mouths of infants and children : your majesty is praised above the heavens.
You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries : to quell the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers : the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
what is man that you should be mindful of him? : the son of man that you should seek him out?
you have made him but little lower than the angels : you adorn him with glory and honor;
you give him mastery over the works of your hands : you put all things under his feet:
all sheep and oxen : even the wild beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, the fish of the sea : and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.
O Lord our Governor : how exalted is your name in all the world!
Revelation 7:2 – 4, 9 – 17 Matthew 5:1 – 12
Heaven and earth are full of your glory : Hosanna in the highest!
Fourteenth-century mystic Meister Eckhart said, “Do not think that saintliness comes from occupation; it depends rather on what one is. The kind of work we do does not make us holy, but we may make it holy.”
Heaven and earth are full of your glory : Hosanna in the highest!
Prayer for Others
Our Father
Lord, your saints come from every nation and every tribe. Such is the beauty of your kingdom, where every race and -people are honored and recognized as being made in your image. Help us live lives of peace and reconciliation that pay homage to the diversity of your great cloud of witnesses. 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.
For centuries, many traditions have sung a simple Alleluia chorus before and after the reading of the Gospel. Feel free to do that throughout the year as you pray. Alleluia means “praise God.” When Lent comes around and we spend forty days fasting and preparing ourselves for Easter, we omit the Alleluia. Then, on Easter morning, we let it burst out again — like -Jesus coming out of the grave. So every Alleluia is a little celebration that our God is stronger than death. Alleluia!
Daily Prayers for October 31
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 bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Song “-Jesus, Help Us Live in Peace”
I bind unto myself today : the strong name of the Trinity.
Psalm 146:4 – 9
Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! : whose hope is in the Lord their God;
who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them : who keeps his promise for ever;
who gives justice to those who are oppressed : and food to those who hunger.
The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind : the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous; the Lord cares for the stranger : he sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked.
The Lord shall reign for ever : your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah!
I bind unto myself today : the strong name of the Trinity.
Nehemiah 7:73b – 8:3, 5 – 18 Philemon 1 – 25
I bind unto myself today : the strong name of the Trinity.
Patrick of Ireland prayed this prayer:
Against all Satan’s spells and wiles
against false words of heresy,
against the knowledge that defiles,
against the heart’s idolatry,
against the wizard’s evil craft,
against the death-wound and the burning,
the choking wave and poisoned shaft,
protect me, Christ, till thy returning.
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Draw us ever closer into your community, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that we might love one another and work with one another in ways that mirror your care and unending love. 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.
Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers: A Few Ideas
1. Start setting aside 10 percent of your income to give away to folks in need.
2. Write letters (by hand on paper) for a month. Try writing to someone who needs encouragement or to whom you should say, “I’m sorry.”
3. Contact your local crisis pregnancy center and invite a pregnant woman to live with your family.
4. Go without food for one day to remember the two billion -people who live on less than a dollar a day.
5. Find a piece of land and care for it. Create a little guerilla garden, and participate with God to help it bear food and flowers. Have kids help out or get a school or youth group involved.
Daily Prayers for October 30
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 bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Song “O Lord, Hear My Prayer”
Tune our spirits, Lord : to sing out with the sky.
Psalm 145:19 – 22
The Lord is near to those who call upon him : to all who call upon him faithfully.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him : he hears their cry and helps them.
The Lord preserves all those who love him : but he destroys all the wicked.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord : let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Tune our spirits, Lord : to sing out with the sky.
Nehemiah 9:1 – 38 Titus 2:1 – 3:15
Tune our spirits, Lord : to sing out with the sky.
Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “The world will be saved by beauty.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Go before us, God, that we may follow in your steps. Go behind us, God, to steer us when we stray. Go beside us, God, as our strength and our joy for the journey. 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.
Daily Prayers for October 29
Clarence Jordan (1912 – 1969)
A son of the American South, Clarence Jordan was troubled by his -people’s comfortable embrace of both -Jesus and racism. After studying for a doctorate in New Testament at the Southern Baptist Seminary, Jordan and his family returned to Georgia in 1942 to start Koinonia Farm, an interracial community in the heart of the Jim Crow South. Greeted by Ku Klux Klan members who told him, “We don’t let the sun set on -people like you around here,” Jordan smiled and replied, “Pleased to meet y’all. I’ve been waiting all my life to meet someone who could make the sun stand still.”
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”
May a great move of God spread : through earth, as through the heavens.
Psalm 140:1 – 3, 7 – 9
Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers : protect me from the violent,
who devise evil in their hearts : and stir up strife all day long.
They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent : adder’s poison is under their lips.
O Lord God, the strength of my salvation : you have covered my head in the day of battle.
Do not grant the desires of the wicked, O Lord : nor let their evil plans prosper.
Let not those who surround me lift up their heads : let the evil of their lips overwhelm them.
May a great move of God spread : through earth, as through the heavens.
Ezra 10:1 – 17 Titus 1:1 – 16
May a great move of God spread : through earth, as through the heavens.
Clarence Jordan wrote, “-Jesus has been so zealously worshiped, his deity so vehemently affirmed, his halo so brightly illumined, and his cross so beautifully polished that in the minds of many he no longer exists as a man. By thus glorifying him we more effectively rid ourselves of him than did those who tried to do so by crudely crucifying him.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
God, keep us from the temptation to so polish your image that those who most need your love feel too dirty to approach you. 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.
Daily Prayers for October 28
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 “Fairest Lord -Jesus”
O -Jesus, how I love your name : its power is every day the same.
Psalm 135:13 – 14, 19 – 21
O Lord, your name is everlasting : your renown, O Lord, endures from age to age.
For the Lord gives his -people justice : and shows compassion to his servants.
Bless the Lord, O house of Israel : O house of Aaron, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, O house of Levi : you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
Blessed be the Lord out of Zion : who dwells in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
O -Jesus, how I love your name : its power is every day the same.
Ezra 9:1 – 15 2 Co-rin-thi-ans 13:1 – 14
O -Jesus, how I love your name : its power is every day the same.
In his Rule for monastic communities, Benedict of Nursia wrote, “Such a follower of Christ lives in reverence of him and does not take the credit for a good life but, believing that all the good we do comes from the Lord, gives him the credit and thanksgiving for what his gift brings about in our hearts. In that spirit our prayer from the psalm should be: Not to us, O Lord, not to us give the glory but to your own name. That is St Paul’s example, for he took no credit to himself for his preaching when he said: It is by God’s grace that I am what I am. And again he says: Let anyone who wants to boast, boast in the Lord.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
You, who led Israel through the waters, plant us by streams of living water. Root us in your love and grow us up to bear the fruit of your Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. 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.
Daily Prayers for October 27
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 “Solid Rock”
If it had not been for the Lord on our side : tell me, where would we be?
Psalm 124:1 – 5
If the Lord had not been on our side : let Israel now say;
if the Lord had not been on our side : when enemies rose up against us;
then would they have swallowed us up alive : in their fierce anger toward us;
then would the waters have overwhelmed us : and the torrent gone over us;
then would the raging waters : have gone right over us.
If it had not been for the Lord on our side : tell me, where would we be?
Ezra 7:1 – 26 2 Co-rin-thi-ans 12:11 – 21
If it had not been for the Lord on our side : tell me, where would we be?
The ancient Letter to Diognetus records these observations about the early church: “The Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor by language, nor by the customs that they observe; for they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. They marry, as do all others; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet they make many rich; they are lacking all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonored, and yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are spoken of as evil, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted and repay the insult with honor; they do good, yet are punished as evildoers.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
With each new morning, Lord, we praise you and delight that our lives are in your hand. Your goodness sustains us. Your calling gives us purpose. You victory ensures that our times are in your hands. 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.
Daily Prayers for October 26
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 bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Song “O Lord, Have Mercy”
We delight to walk in your way : lead us in your mercy.
Psalm 119:153 – 56
Behold my affliction and deliver me : for I do not forget your law.
Plead my cause and redeem me : according to your promise, give me life.
Deliverance is far from the wicked : for they do not study your statutes.
Great is your compassion, O Lord : preserve my life, according to your judgments.
We delight to walk in your way : lead us in your mercy.
Nehemiah 13:4 – 22 2 Co-rin-thi-ans 12:1 – 10
We delight to walk in your way : lead us in your mercy.
Clement of Rome wrote, “Let our whole body, then, be preserved in Christ -Jesus; and let everyone be subject to his neighbor. Let the strong not despise the weak, and let the weak show respect to the strong. Let the rich man provide for the wants of the poor; and let the poor man bless God, because he has given him a community that can provide for his needs. Let us consider then, brothers, the matter out of which we were made, how we came into the world, from utter darkness, as if emerging from a grave. He who made us and fashioned us, prepared his bountiful gifts for us before we were born, and introduced us into his world. Since, therefore, we receive all these things from him, we ought to give him thanks for everything; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, when we weary of the journey, strengthen us by your Spirit to imagine new heavens and a new earth. 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.
Daily Prayers for October 25
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 bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Song “Take My Life and Let It Be”
Let my heart be sound in your statutes : that I may not be put to shame.
Psalm 119:73 – 77
Your hands have made me and fashioned me : give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.
Those who fear you will be glad when they see me : because I trust in your word.
I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right : and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
Let your loving-kindness be my comfort : as you have promised to your servant.
Let your compassion come to me, that I may live : for your law is my delight.
Let my heart be sound in your statutes : that I may not be put to shame.
Nehemiah 12:27 – 31a, 42b – 47 2 Co-rin-thi-ans 11:21b – 33
Let my heart be sound in your statutes : that I may not be put to shame.
Andre Trocmé, who pastored the remarkable Le Chambon community during World War II, said, “Nonviolence was not a theory superimposed upon reality; it was an itinerary that we explored day after day in communal prayer and in obedience to the commands of the Spirit.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, teach us that spiritual formation takes time and discipline just as a seed must be watered, nurtured, and pruned as it grows. Deepen our roots in spiritual growth even as we are extended in our passion for peace and justice. 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.
Daily Prayers for October 24
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 “This Little Light of Mine”
I shall not die but live : and declare the works of the Lord.
Psalm 118:6 – 9
The Lord is at my side, therefore I will not fear : what can anyone do to me?
The Lord is at my side to help me : I will triumph over those who hate me.
It is better to rely on the Lord : than to put any trust in flesh.
It is better to rely on the Lord : than to put any trust in rulers.
I shall not die but live : and declare the works of the Lord.
Nehemiah 6:1 – 19 2 Co-rin-thi-ans 11:1 – 21a
I shall not die but live : and declare the works of the Lord.
Paul Miki, a martyr of Japan, said, “My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies and all who have offended me. I do gladly pardon the emperor and all who have sought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians themselves.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, help us not to take offense at those who question and judge our works of mercy. Rather, enable us to pray that they too might receive the merciful calling to new life with which you have blessed us. 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.
Daily Prayers for October 23
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 “Sing, O Sky (Gaao Re)”
Not to us, not to us : but to your name give glory.
Psalm 115:12 – 18
The Lord has been mindful of us, and he will bless us : he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;
he will bless those who fear the Lord : both small and great together.
May the Lord increase you more and more : you and your children after you.
May you be blessed by the Lord : the maker of heaven and earth.
The heaven of heavens is the Lord’s : but he entrusted the earth to its -peoples.
The dead do not praise the Lord : nor all those who go down into silence;
but we will bless the Lord : from this time forth for evermore. Hallelujah!
Not to us, not to us : but to your name give glory.
Nehemiah 5:1 – 19 2 Co-rin-thi-ans 10:1 – 18
Not to us, not to us : but to your name give glory.
Second-century bishop Melito of Sardis wrote, “Nature trembled and said with astonishment: What new mystery is this? The Judge is judged and remains silent; the Invisible One is seen and does not hide himself; the Incomprehensible One is comprehended and does not resist; the Unmeasurable One is measured and does not struggle; the One beyond suffering suffers and does not avenge himself; the Immortal One dies and does not refuse death. What new mystery is this?”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
In the light of the morning, Lord, we glorify your name. May the mystery of your incarnation shine through the complexities of this day so that in all we do, your name might be praised. 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.
