Morning Prayer May 11-17, 2025

Spring Forest Daily Liturgies: May 11–17, 2025

Scriptures: Acts 9:36-43, Psalm 23, Revelation 7:9-17, John 10:22-30

Sunday – Preparation

Centering:

You prepare a table before me...

(Pause – bell)

In the quiet of this beginning,

we clear a place for grace.

God sets the table—

not in haste, but in hope.

We come to be made ready.

(Pause – bell)

Opening Prayer of Thanksgiving

Gracious and Gathering God,

You prepare the table long before we sit down.

You ready the bread before we hunger,

the cup before we thirst.

We thank you for your slow and faithful work—

the hidden acts of healing,

the unseen hands of mercy,

the ordinary saints who stitch your love into the fabric of every day.

Make us ready to receive what you’ve prepared.

Make us vessels of welcome in a world aching for kindness.

Thank you for setting this week before us—

not to conquer, but to enter gently,

trusting your Spirit goes ahead.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:36–39

Reflection Prompt

Reflect on how God is preparing us to offer love through the quiet work of our hands

and the welcome of our presence.

Prayer of Intercession

Christ who walks ahead and beside,

you know the quiet devotion poured out in everyday acts of love.

We pray for those who work behind the scenes—

who prepare spaces, organize details, send reminders, offer care.

Their hands ready what others will receive.

We hold before you those who are waiting—

for healing, for clarity, for courage to begin again.

Hover near us, Holy Spirit.

Bless our beginnings with grace,

and shape our small offerings into signs of your presence.

Amen.

Closing Prayer

God of the open gate and prepared place,

As we go to meet the hours ahead,

make us attentive to holy work.

Shape our preparation with compassion,

our planning with peace,

and our presence with patience.

Go before us in all we do,

and let what we prepare

make space for your kingdom to grow.

Amen.

Monday – Prayer

Centering:

The Lord is my shepherd...

I shall not want.

(Pause – bell)

In this breath, we remember—

we are not alone.

We are known, guided, loved.

Let us come to prayer with open hearts.

(Pause – bell)

Opening Prayer of Thanksgiving

O Shepherding God,

You do not turn away when we stumble.

You do not rush past our silence.

You pause, and wait, and speak our name.

We thank you for your quiet companionship,

for prayer that does not depend on perfect words,

and for the Spirit that intercedes with sighs too deep for speech.

You are always near,

even when our minds race

and our hearts wander.

We give thanks for this stillness—

this space to be with you.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Scripture Reading: John 10:22–26

Reflection Prompt

Reflect on how prayer becomes the posture of our trust as we quiet ourselves to hear

the Shepherd’s voice—even when clarity has not yet come

Prayer of Intercession

Christ, our Guide and Guardian,

You walked the temple courts amid questions and resistance,

and still you stayed rooted in love.

We pray for all who seek clarity and cannot find it,

for those whose faith feels frayed,

for those who long to hear your voice.

We lift to you those in positions of spiritual leadership,

those discerning next steps,

and those who simply need to rest in your presence.

Let our prayers rise not to impress but to reach—

to touch the hem of your grace.

Meet us there, where language gives way to longing.

Amen.

Closing Prayer

God of steady presence,

as we go into this day,

may we carry the quiet of this moment with us.

Keep our ears open to grace,

our hearts open to your whisper,

and our steps aligned with your peace.

Let our whole life become a prayer—

a living yes to your love.

Amen.

Tuesday – Work

Centering:

God restores my soul...

(Pause – bell)

Before the work,

before the doing,

God does a deeper thing—

reviving our spirit,

reminding us who we are.

(Pause – bell)

Opening Prayer of Thanksgiving

Holy One,

You meet us in the workshop, the classroom, the kitchen, the field.

No task is too small for your presence.

No effort too common for your blessing.

We thank you for the gift of this day—

for minds that solve,

for hands that build,

for feet that carry love into the world.

Let our labor reflect your light.

Let our efforts be planted in grace

and harvested in hope.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:40–43

Reflection Prompt

Reflect on how God may be calling us to show up with faith—bringing words and

presence that mend, encourage, and awaken hope in the poor and the powerful, the

meek and the strong.

Prayer of Intercession

Jesus, who worked with hands and heart,

be with all who rise today to tend, to teach, to serve.

We pray for those whose work is unseen and undervalued.

For caregivers, laborers, healers, and helpers—

bless their strength and their sacrifice.

We pray for those who long for meaningful work,

and for those who carry the burden of burnout.

Bless the labor of this day, O God,

and restore all who work in love.

Amen.

Closing Prayer

Christ of the carpenter’s bench,

walk with us through this day’s tasks.

Infuse our labor with kindness.

Let excellence be shaped by compassion.

And may our work be an offering of grace.

Amen.

Wednesday – Table

Centering:

You anoint my head with oil...

My cup overflows...

(Pause – bell)

We come to the table,

not for scarcity,

but for abundance.

Let blessing spill over

into our welcome, our conversation, our shared bread.

(Pause – bell)

Opening Prayer of Thanksgiving

Christ of the shared meal,

you invite us to a table

not of worthiness but of welcome.

We thank you for the oil of gladness,

for the cup that overflows with mercy,

for the stories and silence held in each bite of bread.

At this table, may we remember:

we belong.

We are fed to feed others.

We are loved to become love.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Scripture Reading: John 10:27–30

Reflection Prompt

Reflect on being known by name as you are welcomed to Christ’s table among the poor,

the marginalized, and the outcasts.

Prayer of Intercession

Jesus, Host of the humble feast,

gather in all who hunger today—

for food, for friendship, for peace.

We pray for those who feel unseen,

for those left out, shut out, turned away.

We remember the lonely, the refugee, the stranger.

Let every table become a place of grace.

Bless the bread we break and the bonds we form.

Feed us with presence and send us with joy.

Amen.

Closing Prayer

Christ at the table,

Christ in the guest,

Christ in the giving—

as we move from this sacred space,

may our words nourish,

may our hearts stay open,

and may our lives be an extension of your feast.

Amen.

Thursday – Neighbor

Centering:

Even though I walk through the darkest valley...

(Pause – bell)

We do not walk alone.

And neither do our neighbors.

Christ walks every road—

even the hard ones.

Let us walk with compassion today.

(Pause – bell)

Opening Prayer of Thanksgiving

God of every tribe and tongue,

you gather the scattered,

you weave strangers into kin.

Thank you for neighbors whose faces reflect your image.

Thank you for languages that carry praise.

Thank you for the diversity of your kingdom,

where no one stands alone.

Today we bless you for the gift of connection.

Help us see one another with your eyes—

as beloved, as worthy, as part of our shared life.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:9–10

Reflection Prompt

Reflect on belonging to a vast, beloved multitude—and being called to stand in Christ-

shaped solidarity with the nearby, the faraway, and the overlooked.

Prayer of Intercession

Christ who stands among the nations,

bind us together in holy compassion.

We pray for neighbors in crisis,

for communities torn by war, hate, and hunger.

We pray for courage to listen,

for grace to act in love.

Let our hearts become bridges.

Let our steps be toward peace.

Amen.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, you did not pass by the wounded.

You walked with the broken.

You loved without boundaries.

As we go into this day,

teach us to be neighbors in truth,

in tenderness,

in radical welcome.

Amen.

Friday – Rest

Centering:

He makes me lie down in green pastures...

He leads me beside still waters...

(Pause – bell)

Let us stop striving.

Let the earth hold us.

Let stillness be a sanctuary

where we remember how to rest.

(Pause – bell)

Opening Prayer of Thanksgiving

Gentle Shepherd,

you slow our pace,

you offer still waters,

you restore what the world wears down.

Thank you for this sacred pause,

for meadows of mercy,

for breath that anchors and renews.

Teach us to rest not as escape,

but as trust—

trust that your love holds it all.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Scripture Reading: Psalm 23

Reflection Prompt

Reflect on how the still waters of God invite us to release what we carry, restore what is

weary, and rest in the mercy that never stops following.

Prayer of Intercession

Christ of sabbath and sunrise,

we pray for those who cannot rest—

the overburdened, the anxious, the weary.

We lift to you caregivers and crisis workers,

those who carry too much alone.

May your peace cradle them.

Teach us to lie down in trust,

to receive rest as gift,

and to find you even in the quiet.

Amen.

Closing Prayer

God of green pastures,

you invite us to unclench,

to breathe,

to be.

As we step gently into this day,

may your stillness go with us.

Let our rest become renewal.

Let your mercy be our rhythm.

Amen.

Saturday – Celebration

Centering:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me...

All the days of my life...

(Pause – bell)

We are not being chased by fear.

We are being pursued by joy.

Let us celebrate the mercy

that has never stopped running toward us.

(Pause – bell)

Opening Prayer of Thanksgiving

Joyful God,

you wipe away tears,

you satisfy hunger,

you shelter us with song.

We give thanks for glimpses of glory—

a laugh shared,

a burden lifted,

a promise fulfilled.

Thank you for joy that bubbles up in surprising places,

for mercy that doesn’t let go,

for love that makes a way where none was seen.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:11–17

Reflection Prompt

Rejoice in the promise that God is wiping away every tear and that joy, not sorrow, is

the final word.

Prayer of Intercession

Christ, our joy and song,

we pray for those who struggle to rejoice—

for those in mourning,

for those in despair,

for those waiting on hope.

We pray for places where war has dulled celebration,

for homes that ache with absence,

for hearts that feel forgotten.

Let the joy of heaven rise even in our ashes.

Let your mercy echo louder than sorrow.

Amen.

Closing Prayer

Lamb of God,

you lead us to fountains of life.

You clothe us in grace.

You sing over us with delight.

As we go into this day,

may joy ripple through our words,

may gratitude shape our steps,

and may our lives become a celebration

of your unending love.

Amen.