Morning Prayer: Astounded | Ordinary Time, Proper 18

This is Ordinary Time, Proper 18, in the Church Calendar. Our general order comes from the Book of Common Prayer (1979) Daily Office and Scripture readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. We’ll sing “You Bring the Morning” written by Andy Squyres throughout today’s time of prayer. We’ll read Psalm 146 followed by the Gloria Patri. Our Lesson is Mark 7:24-37. We’ll say the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Collect of the Day. We’ll then have a time of prompted prayer. If you have a prayer request please submit it here. If you’d like to be on the email list click here. Give and support Morning Prayer monthly. Give a one-time gift. Photo by Bill White from Pexels. Ambience from freesound.org. You Bring the Morning Andy Squyres You bring the gladness/I’ll bring the gleaming You bring the glory/I’ll bring the singing You bring the table/I’ll bring the feasting Somewhere in the distance I hear wedding bells ringing You bring the comfort/I’ll bring my thinking You bring the new wine/I’ll bring the drinking You bring your spirit/I’ll bring the weeping I have nothing else but the promises you’re keeping You bring the morning You bring the evening I’m gonna praise you With every breath that I’m breathing You bring the working day So a man can keep believing So a woman can keep on dreaming And after the fire dies You open up our eyes again You bring the stillborn baby to my shoulder You bring your sorrow to every fallen soldier You bring your passion To the graves that we stand over Young love that we lost We will find as we grow older You bring the mountain So I have somewhere to wander You bring the ocean So I can walk on water You bring the wilderness So I can learn to hunger I feel you like a phantom I can’t explain your wonder Prayer of Confession Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Psalm 146 1 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, O my soul! * I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 2 Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, * for there is no help in them. 3 When they breathe their last, they return to earth, * and in that day their thoughts perish. 4 Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! * whose hope is in the Lord their God; 5 Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; * who keeps his promise for ever; 6 Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, * and food to those who hunger. 7 The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind; * the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; 8 The Lord loves the righteous; the Lord cares for the stranger; * he sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked. 9 The Lord shall reign for ever, * your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah! Mark 7:24-37 (NRSV) Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found