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I join with all who are praying *
to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening Prayer
You died that we might be forgiven, Lord; but that was not the end. You plundered death, and made its jail-house shudder - strode into life to meet Your startled friends.
We have a dream that all the world will meet You, and know You, Jesus, in Your living power, *
that someday soon all people everywhere will hear Your story, and hear it in a way they understand.
- Celtic Daily Prayer
Observe a time of silence before the Lord
(1 – 5 minutes)
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Scriptural Theme
Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.
Sing to the Lord a song of praise
(acapella, or accompanied by instruments / recorded music)
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Praying Hosea 2:14-20 (New International Version)
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall sing as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
"And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me 'Ishi' (My Husband) and no longer will you call me 'Baali' (My Master). For I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will they be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. *
Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD."
Response to the Scripture
Arise, my dove, my fair one and come away with me. For the winter is past and the rain is over and gone!
Draw near to God’s throne of grace
with the thanksgivings, prayers, & intercessions that are on your heart
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The Spirit and the Bride say *
“Come!”
Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly. *
Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.
Praise / prayer / silence / sing a new song
(follow the leading of the Holy Spirit)
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Ending Prayer
May we, like you, delight to give
extravagantly of ourselves
and of our goods
to the least and to the lost—
lost to their own selves,
lost on the way to who knows what anymore,
but not lost to You*
may we give even to those
who may not fully appreciate what we have given,
but who nonetheless deserve the best and the finest,
so that we might acquire
a heart of generosity that knows no bounds,
that gives without expectation of return,
that offers the entire pantry of our lives in joy*
because we know to whom belong:
to a gracious Father in heaven
who owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
whose Son generates an excess of wine and a surfeit of bread,
exceeding all requirements of necessity,
and who gives us his Spirit without measure,
flooding our hearts with the love of the Eternal Godhead,
thereby enabling us to become emissaries of divine bounty
in a world that dares us to believe otherwise
and tempts us to live in any other way but generous-without-strings.
We pray this in the name of the One
who makes us rich by becoming poor for our sake.
Amen.
- W. David O. Taylor
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
( Adapted by Christ the Reconciler from Season 5: Easter Bridge Prayer – “Jesus Our Bridegroom King” )