As we continue in our series, “Seeking God, we turn our attention to Seeking God in prayer!
One constant that rises from the pages of both Hebrew testament and Christian witness is God’s call to prayer. Individually and communally, in times of danger and despair, in times of joyful celebration, at the top of our lungs and in the intimacy of silence – God invites and encourages us to pray. Paul understands this as a “constant” spiritual discipline: “Pray without ceasing,” he says, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18) This gift of deep communion with God is there for all who will seek God in prayer.
The Prayer of the Day and Readings are below.
To abide in God’s love is to abide in prayer!
Blessings to all,
- Pastor Brad Highum
bhighum@abidinglove.org
PRAYER OF THE DAY -----------------------------------------------
Gracious God, in this season of Epiphany light call is into prayer. Give us the faith and the courage to open our hearts and minds to you in this communion of spirit. May we find you when we seek you in prayer. Amen.
READINGS ------------------------------------------------------------
First Reading: 1 Kings 8:27-30
27 "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! 28 Regard your servant's prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, 'My name shall be there,' that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.
Psalm: A Litany of Psalm Verses on Prayer (141, 42, 16, 66)
I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me; give ear to my voice when I call to you.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.
Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.
Second Reading: James 5:13-18
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6
1 "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 "So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
