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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

 

Today's Reflection

The good news for us, unconfused and clear, is that no particular Lenten journey is more perfect or right than another. Our journey to Easter is ours and no one else’s. No other person can travel there for us, nor can we for them; and yet we all will end up at the same destination—Easter morning outside the walls of Jerusalem! And because we have adjusted our lives a little or a lot to follow Jesus through the ups and downs, the deserts and roads of Lent, we can also count on one other truth that will become clear when the dust settles: we all will find ourselves at a different place than where we began.

—Pamela C. Hawkins, The Awkward Season: Prayers for Lent
(Upper Room Books, 2009)

Today's Question

What do you think is the purpose of Lent? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love.
—Psalm 51:1a (NRSV)

Prayer for the Week

O loving Christ who waits for us all to move forward, to change inward, to love outward. Wait now with me as I long and learn to become more like you. Guide me to wait with the lost, to stand with the weak, to have a heart for the brokenhearted. Amen.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

Join a worldwide community of faith by taking advantage of a free 30-day trial subscription to the email edition of The Upper Room daily devotional guide, the only daily devotional written entirely by its readers. To start your free trial, visit upperroom.org/welcome.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

0 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

For as long as I can remember, Lent has seemed an awkward season. Although I have never been confused about where Lent leads—to Easter—I have often been unsure about how best to follow its path.

If the date of Easter were not a moving target, Lent might not seem so awkwardto navigate. But unlike Christmas, which, like north on a compass, always points to one resting place, December 25, Easter moves around. And because Lent is attached to Easter by forty days, its date also moves around. It’s an awkward, seemingly unpredictable point to track.

—Pamela C. Hawkins, The Awkward Season: Prayers for Lent
(Upper Room Books, 2009)

Today's Question

What is awkward about Lent to you? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.

—Hebrews 10:22 (NIV)

Prayer for the Week

O loving Christ who waits for us all to move forward, to change inward, to love outward. Wait now with me as I long and learn to become more like you. Guide me to wait with the lost, to stand with the weak, to have a heart for the brokenhearted. Amen.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

Join a worldwide community of faith by taking advantage of a free 30-day trial subscription to the email edition of The Upper Room daily devotional guide, the only daily devotional written entirely by its readers. To start your free trial, visit upperroom.org/welcome.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

4 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

4th cruciform bead: You have created me to be in relationship with you.

Week beads, set 4: Use each bead to praise God for the different ways you can relate to God in the midst of creation.

—Kristen E. Vincent and Max O. Vincent, Another Bead, Another Prayer: Devotions to Use with Protestant Prayer Beads (Upper Room Books, 2014)

Today's Question

When have you set aside time to connect with the God who created you? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

[Adam and Eve] heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
—Genesis 3:8-9 (NRSV)

Prayer for the Week

Pray the following prayer as you touch the cross, invitatory bead, and resurrection beads on a set of Protestant prayer beads.

Holy God, heaven and earth are filled with your glory.
Let my praise be united with that of
the angels as we proclaim that
you are holy, holy, holy. Amen.

Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

A generation ago, The Godbearing Life charted a new course for youth ministry to fuel the faith both of young people and the adults who minister with them. The Revised Edition now offers a new generation of church leaders the same depth of spiritual wisdom while addressing the profound shifts in society and ministry over the past twenty-five years. Learn more here.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

2 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

2nd cruciform bead: Lord, you created the earth and filled it with living things.

Week beads, set 2: Use each bead to express a sense of wonder for all living things.

3rd cruciform bead: Creator God, you have formed humans out of the dust of the earth.

Week beads, set 3: Use each bead to express wonder at the human body as a creation.

—Kristen E. Vincent and Max O. Vincent, Another Bead, Another Prayer: Devotions to Use with Protestant Prayer Beads (Upper Room Books, 2014)

Today's Question

How can you use your body to praise God? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

The Lord God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life.
—Genesis 2:7 (CEB)

Prayer for the Week

Pray the following prayer as you touch the cross, invitatory bead, and resurrection beads on a set of Protestant prayer beads.

Holy God, heaven and earth are filled with your glory.
Let my praise be united with that of
the angels as we proclaim that
you are holy, holy, holy. Amen.

Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

A generation ago, The Godbearing Life charted a new course for youth ministry to fuel the faith both of young people and the adults who minister with them. The Revised Edition now offers a new generation of church leaders the same depth of spiritual wisdom while addressing the profound shifts in society and ministry over the past twenty-five years. Learn more here.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

2 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

Cross: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;

Invitatory bead: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

Resurrection bead: world without end. Amen.

1st cruciform bead: Lord, you set lights in the heavens for the day and the night.

Week beads, set 1: Use each bead to express awe for the sun and moon, the planets and stars.

—Kristen E. Vincent and Max O. Vincent, Another Bead, Another Prayer: Devotions to Use with Protestant Prayer Beads (Upper Room Books, 2014)

Today's Question

How often do you take time to gaze at the sun or moon and thank God for these beautiful lights? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
—Genesis 1:3-5 (NRSV)

Prayer for the Week

Pray the following prayer as you touch the cross, invitatory bead, and resurrection beads on a set of Protestant prayer beads.

Holy God, heaven and earth are filled with your glory.
Let my praise be united with that of
the angels as we proclaim that
you are holy, holy, holy. Amen.

Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

A generation ago, The Godbearing Life charted a new course for youth ministry to fuel the faith both of young people and the adults who minister with them. The Revised Edition now offers a new generation of church leaders the same depth of spiritual wisdom while addressing the profound shifts in society and ministry over the past twenty-five years. Learn more here.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

5 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

Psalm 8 celebrates the place of human beings within all creation. The psalmist expresses wonder and amazement at the majesty and vastness of creation. Then he marvels at the unique relationship God holds with humans among the cosmos. The devotion uses the “Gloria Patri” and other words from the full text of Psalm 8, including the title “Lord” to address God. The meditation invites us to consider the psalmist’s question, “What are human beings that you pay attention to them?” Use the meditation as a way of listening for God’s answer.

—Kristen E. Vincent and Max O. Vincent, Another Bead, Another Prayer: Devotions to Use with Protestant Prayer Beads (Upper Room Books, 2014)

Today's Question

What are your favorite items in creation to praise God for? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

When I look up at your skies,
at what your fingers made—
the moon and the stars
that you set firmly in place—
what are human beings
that you think about them;
what are human beings
that you pay attention to them?
—Psalm 8:3-4 (CEB)

Prayer for the Week

Pray the following prayer as you touch the cross, invitatory bead, and resurrection beads on a set of Protestant prayer beads.

Holy God, heaven and earth are filled with your glory.
Let my praise be united with that of
the angels as we proclaim that
you are holy, holy, holy. Amen.

Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

A generation ago, The Godbearing Life charted a new course for youth ministry to fuel the faith both of young people and the adults who minister with them. The Revised Edition now offers a new generation of church leaders the same depth of spiritual wisdom while addressing the profound shifts in society and ministry over the past twenty-five years. Learn more here.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

2 Comments | Join the Conversation.