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 13.23

If you know the book of Ruth you’ll know all about ‘gleaning’. (If you don’t know it, it’s well worth a read, and doesn’t take long!) This proverb isn’t quite about that, but the principle is the same: those with shouldn’t hold things back from those without.

Why might people stop an unused field from being farmed? Most probably to keep the price high of the food produced in their other fields (after all, if the poor grew their own food they wouldn’t need to buy it).

Are you even aware of the injustices caused around the world as a result of our lifestyle? We all like cheap clothes and cheap food – but do we really understand the global impact of all this?

There are no easy answers – Fairtrade has mixed results – but the one thing the Bible refuses to let us do, is nothing. Time and again it tells us – almost shouts at us! – that God is on the side of those suffering injustice.

And, most of the time, that is not rich Westerners. Desmond Tutu said:

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu

… and neither will God.

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:

Dennis & Dorothy Holland, Frank & Sue Joyce

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.