A Concord Pastor Comments: NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 7/29

REMINDER: I'm away for a week and reposting some of my favorite NIGHT PRAYERS. If you have a favorite you'd like to see again, let me know the date it first appeared. Tonight's selection was requested by a reader and first appeared on May 29.

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
grant us peace in our own day,
keep us free from sin
and keep us safe from all distress...

We pray these words, Lord,
every time we gather to pray at your table
and we ask for a lot;
   - deliverance from every evil
   - peace - right now
   - freedom from sin
   - and a place safe from all distress

As this day ends, Lord, I'm thinking we might,
we should, pray these words every night!
Those four petitions sum up so well
so much of what we need from you,
so much of what we long for:
the deliverance, peace, freedom and safety
that only you can offer, only you can give...

Tonight, Lord, I pray that you deliver us from evil:
   - the evil of racism, poverty and war,
   - the evil of consumerism, greed and selfishness,
   - the evil of assaults on the dignity of human life
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil...

Tonight I pray for peace in our own times, Lord,
the peace that only you can give:
   - peace in our world, in our nation,
        in our communities, streets and neighborhoods
   - peace in our families, and sooner than later
   - peace in our minds and hearts, in our souls,
peace with you, Lord, peace with our selves
Graciously grant us peace, Lord, in our own day...

Tonight I pray that you keep us free from sin, Lord:
   - free of temptation and its wily ways
   - free of sin that's become a habit
   - free of the sins of omission and silence
   - free of the sins we find hardest to admit
   - freedom from anything and everything
that separates us from you and our neighbor
Keep us free from sin, Lord...

And tonight, Lord, I pray that you keep us safe from all distress:
   - the distress of worry, doubt and fear
   - the distress of disease, illness and pain
   - the distress of tryanny, terrorism and war
   - the distress of anxiety, depression and grief
   - the distress of hunger, homelessness and want
   - the distress of discouragement, loneliness and despair
Keep us safe from all distress, Lord...

I know, Lord - that's asking a lot!
But this is what we need, and you are all we have:
you are our best and only hope...

With humble hearts we pray for such great gifts, Lord,
AND we pray for the grace that's yours to give:
   - the grace to help us turn away from evil
         whenever, wherever we encounter it;
   - the grace to work for peace now,
         peace in the world, in our cities and in our homes
   - the grace we need to turn away from sin
        and to follow the path of your wisdom, word and truth
   - the grace to turn to you when we're in distress
        and the grace to offer refuge to all who come to us in need...

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
grant us peace in our own day,
keep us free from sin
and keep us safe from all distress...

And in that same spirit, Lord, I pray:
protect me while I'm still awake
and watch over me as I sleep
that awake, I will keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

Psalm 16 - The Path of Life by Scott Soper