Mid-Day Prayers
21st Week of Pentecost


We read the Watchword for the week together:
The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. Psalm 118:22,23

Gracious God, In the midst of a busy day
We pause to build our lives around you.
In the midst of a busy life
We pause to build our lives around you.
In the midst of the pain that we carry in our hearts,
We pause to build our lives around you.
In the midst of our joyful celebration of the gift of life,
We pause to build our lives around you.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 80:7-15
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches;
11 it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River.
12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14 Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15 the stock that your right hand planted.
(Pause and reflect on words and phrases that catch your spirit as you read the Psalm today. Is there anything there that you have overlooked before? As what God is gracing you with today?)

Let us confess our sins to our loving God:
(Adapted from the Liturgy of Christian Unity in the Moravian Book of Worship, page 125. Used by permission)

Gracious Lord and God we know that we will remain less that the whole persons you have called us to be in Christ Jesus until we acknowledge our sins to you, so we bow before you and pray: We confess that we have tried to run away and hide from you. We constantly deceive ourselves into thinking that we can live without you. We have made idols of our own achievements. We have treated other persons as though they did not bear your image. We have failed to enfold and include all persons within the outstretched and open arms of Jesus Christ, our Savior. And we have left undone those deeds of lovingkindness and godly justice that you want us to pursue in your name. Bring your Spirit upon us in a gracious, healing way. Make us agents of reconciliation as we live within your holy presence. Amen.
(We would all love to brush right over the confession of sin, but stop for a moment focus on specific words or actions that need God's grace. When you are truly ready for God's pardon, then continue with the Prayers)

Hear the comforting words of our Lord: Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more.

Thanks be to God.

Reading of the Daily Texts

Prayers of the Community of Faith (spoken and silent)


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


Creator of all humanity, we call you Holy, and seek to worship you all the days of our lives. We pray that the ways of your heavenly kingdom may be made real in the world that surrounds us. May the bread that we need for today be made available for us and all who are hungry; and may you forgive us, just as we are able to forgive those who have sinned against us. In the time of moral testing, may we listen first for your voice calling to us, instead of the call of the world; take from us the self-centeredness of our society. This world, and all that is in it, always has been and always will be yours, help us to lose ourselves to you and your kingdom. Help us to find who we truly are as we walk in your light. Amen.

God of all creation guide us to build our lives on you,
Help us to make you the cornerstone upon which lives lean for support.
God of our salvation guide us to build our lives on you,
So that we may live gracefully as a reflection of what you have given us.
God of the Spirit guide us to build our lives on you,
Fan the flames of our faith so that we may passionately share your love with those with whom we live and work and play.
May the love of God, the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
Be with us throughout the living of this day we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.