Spirituality: Daily Prayer

Friday 27 February 2026

Morning Prayer

Friday after First Sunday of Lent
Lent / Week 1 of Lent

O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.
Amen.

Psalmody

Antiphon:
O God, you are my God;
eagerly I seek you.
Psalm 63.1


Opening

Psalm 63

1. My soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,*
as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.
2. For your loving-kindness is better than life itself;*
my lips shall give you praise.
3. For you have been my helper,*
and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
4. My soul clings to you;*
your right hand holds me fast.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or a suitable hymn


Psalm 141

1. O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly; *
hear my voice when I cry to you.
2. Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, *
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3. Set a watch before my mouth, O Lord, *
and guard the door of my lips.
4. Let not my heart incline to any evil thing. *
Let me not be occupied in wickedness with
evildoers, nor eat of their choice foods.
5. Let the righteous smite me in friendly rebuke; let not the oil of the unrighteous anoint my head; *
for my prayer is continually against their wicked
deeds.
6. Let their rulers be overthrown in stony places, *
that they may know my words are true.
7. As when a farmer turns over the earth in furrows, *
let their bones be scattered at the mouth of the
grave.
8. But my eyes are turned to you, Lord God; *
in you I take refuge; do not strip me of my life.
9. Protect me from the snare which they have laid for me *
and from the traps of the evildoers.
10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, *
while I myself escape.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.


Psalm 142

1. I cry to the Lord with my voice; *
to you I make loud supplication.
2. I pour out my complaint before you *
and tell you all my trouble.
3. When my spirit languishes within me, you know my path; *
in the way wherein I walk they have hidden a trap
for me.
4. I look to my side and find no one who knows me; *
I have no place to flee to, and no one cares for me.
5. I cry out to you, O Lord; *
I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of
the living.”
6. Listen to my cry for help, *for I have been brought very low;
save me from those who pursue me, * for they are
too strong for me.
7. Bring me out of prison, * that I may give thanks to
your name;
when you have dealt bountifully with me, * the
righteous will gather around me.


Conclusion

Isaiah 43. 15-21

1. ‘I am the Lord, your Holy One,*
the Creator of Israel, whom I have chosen.’
2. Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea,*
a path in the mighty waters,
3. ‘Remember not the former things,*
nor consider the things of old.
4. ‘Behold, I make all things new;*
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
5. I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert,*
to give drink to my chosen people,
6. ‘The people whom I formed for myself,*
that they might declare my praise.’

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

Antiphon: O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you.

Reading(s)

Genesis 40.1-23

Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he waited on them; and they continued for some time in custody. One night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own meaning. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, ‘Why are your faces downcast today?’ They said to him, ‘We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.’ And Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.’

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, ‘In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.’ Then Joseph said to him, ‘This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days; within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. But remember me when it is well with you; please do me the kindness to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this place. For in fact I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.’

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favourable, he said to Joseph, ‘I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.’ And Joseph answered, ‘This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a pole; and the birds will eat the flesh from you.’

On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants, and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand; but the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.


1 Corinthians 3.16-23

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,

‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’,

and again,

‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile.’

So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.


Silence


Response (Psalm 6.4)

Turn, O Lord, and deliver me.
Turn, O Lord, and deliver me.
Save me for your mercy’s sake.
And deliver me.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
Turn, O Lord, and deliver me.

Song of Zechariah (Benedictus)

Song of Zechariah Antiphon: We shall not live by bread alone, * but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

1 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, *
who has come to his people and set them free.
2 The Lord has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,*
born of the house of his servant David.
3 Through the holy prophets, God promised of old*
to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us,
4 to show mercy to our forebears, *
and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham:*
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6 free to worship him without fear,*
holy and righteous before him, all the days of our life.
7 And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,*
for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way,
8 to give his people knowledge of salvation*
by the forgiveness of their sins.
9 In the tender compassion of our God*
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10 to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,*
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

(may be said by all)

Song of Zechariah Antiphon: We shall not live by bread alone, * but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Prayers

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

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.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.

Amen


Collect of the Day

Almighty God,
whose Son fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet did not sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in submission to your Spirit,
that, as you know our weakness,
so we may know your power to save;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
Amen


God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal.
Amen.

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