Spirituality: Daily Prayer

Friday 11 September 2026

Morning Prayer

Friday Pentecost 15
Season of Creation / Creation Week 1

O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.
Amen.

Psalmody

Antiphon:
O God, you created the heavens and spread out the earth
You gave breath to all people and spirit to everything that lives.
Isaiah 42.5


Opening

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or a suitable Hymn

(Or from Psalm 24.1-4)

1. The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
2. for God has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.


3. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in God’s holy place?
4. Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not
swear deceitfully.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or a suitable hymn


Psalm 31

1. In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; *
deliver me in your righteousness.
2. Incline your ear to me; * make haste to deliver me.
3. Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe, for you are my crag and my stronghold; *
for the sake of your name, lead me and guide me.
4. Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me, *
for you are my tower of strength.
5. Into your hands I commend my spirit, *
for you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth.
6. I hate those who cling to worthless idols * and I put my trust in the Lord.
7. I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy; *
for you have seen my affliction; you know my distress.
8. You have not shut me up in the power of the enemy; * you have set my feet in an open place. 
9. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; *
my eye is consumed with sorrow, and also my throat and my belly.
10. For my life is wasted with grief, and my years with sighing; *
my strength fails me because of affliction, and my bones are consumed.
11. I have become a reproach to all my enemies and even to my neighbours,*
a dismay to those of my acquaintance; when they see me in the street they avoid me.
12. I am forgotten like a corpse, out of mind; * I am as useless as a broken pot.
13. For I have heard the whispering of the crowd; fear is all around; *
they put their heads together against me; they plot to take my life.
14. But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. * I have said, “You are my God.”
15. My times are in your hand; *
rescue me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.
16. Make your face to shine upon your servant, * and in your loving-kindness save me.”
17. Lord, let me not be ashamed for having called upon you; *
rather, let the wicked be put to shame; let them be silent in the grave.
18. Let the lying lips be silenced which speak against the righteous, *
haughtily, disdainfully and with contempt.
19. How great is your goodness, O Lord, which you have laid up for those who fear you; *
which you have done in the sight of all for those who put their trust in you.
20. You hide them in the covert of your presence from those who slander them; *
you keep them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.
21. Blessed are you, O Lord, *
for you have shown me the wonders of your love in a besieged city.
22. Yet I said in my alarm, “I have been cut off from the sight of your eyes.” *
Nevertheless, you heard the sound of my entreat when I cried out to you.
23. Love the Lord, all you who worship God; *
the Lord protects the faithful, but repays to the full those who act haughtily.
24. Be strong and let your heart take courage, * all you who wait for the Lord.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.


Conclusion

Isaiah 24.4-7

4. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and
withers; the heavens languish together with the earth.
5. The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.
6. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants
suffer for their guilt. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled, and few people are left.
7. The wine dries up, the vine languishes, all the merry-
hearted sigh.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

Antiphon: O God, you created the heavens and spread out the earth. You gave breath to all people and spirit to everything which lives.

Reading(s)

Job 29.1;31-24.40

Job again took up his discourse and said:
‘I have made a covenant with my eyes;
how then could I look upon a virgin?
What would be my portion from God above,
and my heritage from the Almighty on high?
Does not calamity befall the unrighteous,
and disaster the workers of iniquity?
Does he not see my ways,
and number all my steps?

‘If I have walked with falsehood,
and my foot has hurried to deceit—
let me be weighed in a just balance,
and let God know my integrity!—
if my step has turned aside from the way,
and my heart has followed my eyes,
and if any spot has clung to my hands;
then let me sow, and another eat;
and let what grows for me be rooted out.

‘If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbour’s door;
then let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her.
For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be a criminal offence;
for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my harvest.

‘If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves,
when they brought a complaint against me;
what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?

‘If I have withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the orphan has not eaten from it—
for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—
if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
or a poor person without covering,
whose loins have not blessed me,
and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
if I have raised my hand against the orphan,
because I saw I had supporters at the gate;
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
For I was in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his majesty.

‘If I have made gold my trust,
or called fine gold my confidence;
if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
or because my hand had acquired much;
if I have looked at the sun when it shone,
or the moon moving in splendour,
and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand;
this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I should have been false to God above.

‘If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me,
or exulted when evil overtook them—
I have not let my mouth sin
by asking for their lives with a curse—
if those of my tent ever said,
“O that we might be sated with his flesh!”—
the stranger has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my doors to the traveller—
if I have concealed my transgressions as others do,
by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
because I stood in great fear of the multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
O that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)
O that I had the indictment written by my adversary!
Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a crown;
I would give him an account of all my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.

‘If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together;
if I have eaten its yield without payment,
and caused the death of its owners;
let thorns grow instead of wheat,
and foul weeds instead of barley.’

The words of Job are ended.


Acts 15.12-21

The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, ‘My brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first looked favourably on the Gentiles, to take from among them a people for his name. This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written,

“After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen;
from its ruins I will rebuild it,
and I will set it up,
so that all other peoples may seek the Lord—
even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called.
Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things known from long ago.”

Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God, but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood. For in every city, for generations past, Moses has had those who proclaim him, for he has been read aloud every sabbath in the synagogues.’


Silence


Response (Proverbs 3.19-20)

By your wisdom, O Lord, you founded the earth and established the heavens;
By your wisdom, O Lord, you founded the earth and established the heavens;
By you knowledge the deeps broke open.
You founded the earth and established the heavens;
Glory to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit.
By your wisdom, O Lord, you founded the earth and established the heavens.

Song of Zechariah

Song of Zechariah Antiphon: O Lord God, you made the heavens and the earth * by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

1 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,* for he has come to his people and set them free.
2 He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,* born of the house of his servant David.
3 Through his holy prophets he promised of old* that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us.
4 He promised to show mercy to our forebears,* and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:* to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6 free to worship him without fear,* holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
7 You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High,* for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8 to give his people knowledge of salvation* by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9 In the tender compassion of our God* the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10 to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,* and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

(may be said by all)

Song of Zechariah Antiphon: O Lord God, you made the heavens and the earth * by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

Prayers

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

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.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.

Amen


Collect of the Day

Holy God,
Creator of the world and fount of all life,
you never abandon the creatures formed by your wisdom:
remain with us always, we pray,
working for our good,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen


God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal.
Amen.

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