Prayer During the Day
Lent
    Thursday, 13 March 2025
     
     
      Preparation  
     
    O God, make speed to save us.
All
   O Lord, make haste to help us.
     
    Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;
All
   hold not your peace at my tears.
   
Psalm 39.13
     
   
Praise
  
     
    A hymn, song, canticle, extempore praise or
     
    Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you;
you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.
     
    Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness;
through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.
     
    Your warmth gives life to the dead,
your touch makes sinners righteous.
     
    Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us;
in your love and tenderness remake us.
     
    In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness,
for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us
   
Anselm (1109)
     
   
The Word of God
  
     
     
   
Psalmody
     
    Either, Thursday Psalm 12
     
    (or)
     
    Or, on any day Psalm 51.1-10
     
    Alternatively, when Morning and Evening Prayer are also celebrated, one of these cycles may be followed.
     
   

Psalm 12

Refrain: You, O Lord, will watch over us.

1  Help me, Lord, for no one godly is left; ♦
   the faithful have vanished from the whole human race.

2  They all speak falsely with their neighbour; ♦
   they flatter with their lips, but speak from a double heart.

3  O that the Lord would cut off all flattering lips ♦
   and the tongue that speaks proud boasts!

4  Those who say, ‘With our tongue will we prevail; ♦
   our lips we will use; who is lord over us?’

5  ‘Because of the oppression of the needy,
      and the groaning of the poor, ♦
   I will rise up now,’ says the Lord,
      ‘and set them in the safety that they long for.’

6  The words of the Lord are pure words, ♦
   like silver refined in the furnace
      and purified seven times in the fire.

7  You, O Lord, will watch over us ♦
   and guard us from this generation for ever.

8  The wicked strut on every side, ♦
   when what is vile is exalted by the whole human race.

Refrain: You, O Lord, will watch over us.

Lord, when faith is faint
and speech veils our intentions,
restore us by your word of power and purity,
both now and for ever.
     
    (or)
     
   

Psalm 51.1-10

Refrain: The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit.

1  Have mercy on me, O God, in your great goodness; ♦
   according to the abundance of your compassion
      blot out my offences.

2  Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness ♦
   and cleanse me from my sin.

3  For I acknowledge my faults ♦
   and my sin is ever before me.

4  Against you only have I sinned ♦
   and done what is evil in your sight,

5  So that you are justified in your sentence ♦
   and righteous in your judgement.

6  I have been wicked even from my birth, ♦
   a sinner when my mother conceived me.

7  Behold, you desire truth deep within me ♦
   and shall make me understand wisdom
      in the depths of my heart.

8  Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; ♦
   wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

9  Make me hear of joy and gladness, ♦
   that the bones you have broken may rejoice.

10  Turn your face from my sins ♦
   and blot out all my misdeeds.

Refrain: The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit.

Take away, good Lord, the sin that corrupts us;
give us the sorrow that heals
and the joy that praises
and restore by grace your own image within us,
that we may take our place among your people;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Each psalm or group of psalms may end with
     
All
   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.
     
   
Short readings
  
     
    Either, Thursday
    Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
   
Isaiah 58.6-9a
     
    Or, on any day in Lent
    Jesus said, ‘There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.’
   
Luke 15.7
     
   
Response
  
     
    Silence, study, song, or words from Scripture, such as
     
    Blessed are the merciful,
All
   for they will receive mercy.
   
Matthew 5.7
     
   
Prayers
  
     
    Prayers may include these concerns:
     
    Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
    Those serving through leadership
    Those looking for forgiveness
    Those misled by the false gods of this present age
    All who are hungry
     
    A form of intercession found here may be used.
     
    Either, the following prayer is said
     
    Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and not to seek for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do your will.
All
   Amen.
     
   
Ignatius of Loyola (1556)
     
     
    Or, the Collect of the day is said
     
    Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.
     
    The Lord’s Prayer is said.
     
    (Either)
     
    As our Saviour taught us, so we pray
     
All
  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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
     
    (or)
     
    Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
     
All
  Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
     
   
The Conclusion
  
     
    May God bless us and show us compassion and mercy.
All
   Amen.
     
   

© The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2005
Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks are available from Church House Publishing.

The Bible readings (other than the psalms) are from The New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Implemented by Simon Kershaw at Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002–2021.

 
     
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