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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 most helpful thing I’ve done in my life of prayer is to spend one hour once a month with an older, wiser Christian who is experienced at prayer and living life with God.

In one way, prayer is natural—we were made for it and we long for it. In another way, we find prayer confusing and fraught with challenges. Why not spend time with someone who knows the way and who can give gentle guidance, encouragement, and support? In the church God has given us these people.

A soul friend walks alongside us, the way Jesus walked with the disciples on the way to Emmaus. A soul friend companions us. . . .  A soul friend is one who offers the word or gesture of forgiveness, one in whose presence we are not afraid to bare our souls.

—L. Roger Owens, What We Need Is Here: Practicing the Heart of Christian Spirituality (Upper Room Books, 2015)

Today’s Question

Do you have a soul friend? Are you a soul friend for someone else? Join the conversation.

Today’s Scripture

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.
—Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NRSV)

Prayer for the Week

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
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

Pause and notice God’s comforting presence by reflecting on the songs of Advent. Good News of Great Joy: Advent Reflections on the Songs of Luke offers 24 daily readings that explore the context, content, and spirituality of the four canticles (“little songs”) in Luke 1–2. Learn more.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Reign of Christ

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

5 Comments

  • Julie Posted November 18, 2021 8:22 am

    I don’t but i would love to have one. I am too new to this to be one to someone else.
    Megan and I have tickets to a comedy show tomorrow night. I am not looking forward to it with how tired I am feeling. Then Saturday we have a lot of shopping we have to do and that night she is going to Pittsburgh’s lightup night with her friends. Then Sunday we have more errands to run and sometime before Thanksgiving we have to bake 5 dozen cookies for the meal that our church offers to the community. We are also volunteering the entire day on Thanksgiving to serve and cleanup. We have to be at the church by 10:30 and may not get out until 4:00! So much for taking it easy and letting my body heal!
    Prayers that Ally fininshed the disability paperwork yesterday and that David’s PSA count decreases. Prayers that Roger’s body soon responds to the insulin and that Jill finds someone to be with him all the time while she is away. Prayers that Robert and his church laity continue to be led by the Holy Spirrit in their continued stardship of the congregation. Prayers for blessings for Marti and her staff.
    Thank you for your prayers and may God bless all who visit here.

    • Larry Dyer Posted November 18, 2021 9:09 am

      May God bess you Julie. We all have soul friends unknown to us. That is how the Holy Spirit works. Granted it is a blessing to have a close spiritual friend who we can communicate with at anytime. As we grow spiritually we develop those relationships, Grace of God . And of course our closest spiritual friend is God. Keep the abiding faith 🙏 !!!

    • Larry Dyer Posted November 18, 2021 9:21 am

      I find myself in a willingness to serve syndrome and need to remind myself that rest is a matter of stewardship of our gift of life from God.

  • robert moeller Posted November 18, 2021 2:41 pm

    Prayers that all goes well with Julie’s many activities so soon after surgery. BE SAFE! Many good ideas about soul friends expressed here. I like the idea of the ones who are unknown to us. I am not personally aware of one. Not sure I am one to others. ZOOM breakfast in the morning, and ZOOM worship on Sunday. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Nice to hear from Larry Dyer, your comments are helpful. Prayers for Jill at school, away on her trip, and care for Roger. Yes, having the disability paperwork done and good PSA results would be a blessing for Ally & David. Advent worship plans are progressing. The manger is at the ready., taken from storage to the sanctuary. Window glass being installed on my model. Wonderful meals prepared by Erich, his wound is healing nicely. His snow shoes have arrived. A warmer day today, but we’ll be back to more typical November weather tomorrow. Had a nice walk along old railroad tracks that ran from Portland ME to St. Johnsbury VT
    this morning. The new book used for Bible study should be here by tomorrow. My Dad would be 102 tomorrow, he passed away in 2008. Looked through his things yesterday. Day by day I’m thankful for the blessings that come my way. Thank You, Lord.

  • Jill Posted November 18, 2021 3:20 pm

    I am grateful to have my soul friend who taught me and continues to teach me much about prayer, about time alone with God, about honesty with God. Plus – my dear friend from the cancer support group who is the fiercest prayer warrior I know. God has blessed me and grown me via various mature women.
    Today at school was a real struggle. Short on patience and had something stolen from my room when another teacher is in my room. Disgusted by the whole day, quite frankly. But, the first crappy day of its kind this school year – so that is very good. And it causes me to pause in gratitude.
    My friend is stopping by in a bit – to attempt to give Roger his shot. I am taking him to her house tomorrow evening – where hopefully he will be as ok as he can be not in his own environment, and getting his needed insulin.
    My god daughter got to play in her first college basketball game yesterday – only for a few minutes. But encouraging, considering she was in a walking boot last week at this time. I was grateful to watch it streamed.

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