30 Day Prayer Guide | Day 04
MORNING PRAYER
SILENCE [2 min]
Silence, stillness, and centering before the God of our salvation.
THE PSALM
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor! May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations! May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
(Psalms 72:1–7)
MORNING HYMN
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun does its successive journeys run,
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, till moons shall wax and wane no more.
To him shall endless prayer be made, and praises throng to crown his head.
His name like sweet perfume shall rise with every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue dwell on his love with sweetest song,
and infant voices shall proclaim their early blessings on his name.
Blessings about where’er he reigns: the prisoners leap to lose their chains,
the weary find eternal rest, and all who suffer want are blest.
Let every creature rise and bring the highest honors to our King,
angels descend with songs again, and earth repeat the loud amen.
-Isaac Watts, 1719
PROMPTED PRAYER
- For rulers and the flourishing of those under their dominion
- For the peace of God in the midst of a violent world
- For those suffering from violence, abuse, and oppression
- For a faithful, compassionate, and gentle heart
A MEDITATIVE PRAYER
Jesus, give me the petition for a humble heart. I barely know how to ask. Say it for me; please speak to the Father on my behalf. You know humility pristinely. Please give me this gift, as I bow before you. (Canyon Road: A Book of Prayer)
EVENING PRAYER
SILENCE [2 min]
Silence, stillness, and centering before the God of our salvation.
THE PSALM
My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word. My eyes long for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?” For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes. How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me? The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law. All your commandments are sure; they persecute me with falsehood; help me! They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts. In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.
(Psalms 119:81–88)
CONFESSION & ASSURANCE
For the things I did that I shouldn’t have done. For the things I didn’t do that I should've done.
By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
GOSPEL READING
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
(John 5:1–9)
SPACE FOR REFLECTION
Pause at the end of this day. Enjoy communion with the living God: Father, Son, and Spirit. Listen for the voice of God in the Scriptures. Read. Meditate. Pray. Contemplate. Seek God’s face.
THE BENEDICTION
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
(James 4:10)
SILENCE [2 min]
Silence and stillness, as God has the last word to finish the day. He labors while you sleep.