Our church building may be closed, but God’s eyes are open and his ears are attentive to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7.15).

Welcome back to the daily proverb!

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Opening

Speak these words out loud:

The Spirit of God has made us;
the breath of the Almighty gives us life.

from Job 33.4

Today’s Proverb

Read the proverb through three or four times, slowly. Pause in-between, maybe write it out by hand – savour the words, let them speak deeply to you.

Proverbs 13.17

We’ve seen a similar proverb before a couple of months ago. Messengers of this kind are no longer necessary in the age of electronic communications – although I have to say there’s nothing quite like talking to a person face-to-face!

I wonder if today Solomon would write this proverb about social media and gossip? It’s so easy to forward things without thinking, on Facebook, on WhatsApp, etc. But we share other things in the same way – without thinking – face-to-face: a juicy piece of gossip, an unsubstantiated rumour (that confirms something we already thought…) – the list goes on. We are ‘messengers’ to everyone we speak to.

Can you be trusted to share the truth? That’s the nub of this proverb. Solomon needed messengers he could rely on to tell the truth, not embellish, change, or corrupt it.

When you hear, read, or see something – do you stop to wonder if it’s true? I’ve had only one experience in my life where I’ve been inside a situation being reported in the newspapers – when the faculty at my training college was imploding – and let me tell you, what was reported was not even close to being ‘the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth’.

Think how much healing and peace we could bring if we made a commitment only to share and pass on the truth?

Prayers

Pray for Five – pray for your five friends / family from Thy Kingdom Come.

Our daily prayer sheet includes the names of everyone for whom we have a signed church family directory form – and local parishes and senior church leaders. Today we are praying for:

Marian Cox, Christine Farmer, Judith Walker

Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.

Please pray for our leaders and healthcare workers, and all those working to keep us safe, well, and fed. Please pray that people would unselfishly put others before themselves, and buy only what they need.

Church Family Prayer

Come Holy Spirit,
and make us one in heart and action,
so that we can serve God faithfully:
abounding in love,
maturing in holiness,
and seeking out the lost.
Help us grow as disciples of Jesus –
in commitment, in depth, and in number –
that we may be a blessing to Amington;
to the glory and praise of God the Father.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

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.

Closing Prayer

Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus
the only way to the Father.

Psalm 127.1, Hebrews 12.2 & John 14.6

May Christ our Saviour give us peace.
Amen.