Sing to the Lord, and praise him! Proclaim every day the good news that he has saved us (Psalm 96.2, GNB).
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Opening
Speak these words out loud:
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27.14 (NIV)
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.
Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife. (NIV)
Better to live out in the desert than with a nagging, complaining wife. (GNB)
Proverbs 21.19
Another one to tread carefully with…!!
We had one of these only eleven days ago. It’s not a long time to change, but I wonder have you even tried, or made any steps?
Solomon particularly mentions wives – as I said, he had a lot – but I think the attitude and the Proverb can apply to anyone. Are you a Moaning Myrtle or a Complaining Christopher? Do you like to have a whine and a whinge?
What often happens when we are unhappy about something, is that we take it out on those closest to us. We nag and complain and whine and whinge and grumble and moan – but often the things we’re going on about aren’t the main problem.
It’s the hardest thing in medicine: when a patient presents with lots of symptoms but the underlying problem isn’t obvious.
Perhaps to change our grumbling we need to spend some time in prayer asking God to help us see the underlying problem, the underlying unhappiness, the underlying issue that is causing us to be unpleasant to those around us.
Otherwise we risk alienating those we love, and then we may as well in a dead and lifeless desert.
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:
Kath Hastilow, Michael Ackroyd, Pauline Sawle
Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.
We also pray for: Marriages & Family Life
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.
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.