Evening Prayer | Wednesday in Easter Week

OPENING SENTENCES

Yours is the day, O God, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.    Psalm 74:15, 16

 

CONFESSION OF SIN

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.

Evening Examen: Was there any time today when I felt discouraged? When did I feel most free? Let God guide you as you reflect on your day by asking him for light, grace, and gratitude.

 

O God, make speed to save us. *
O Lord, make haste to help us.

 

EVENING PSALM 

Psalm 115

Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
but to your Name give glory; *
because of your love and because of your faithfulness.

Why should the heathen say, *
"Where then is their God?"

Our God is in heaven; *
whatever he wills to do he does.

Their idols are silver and gold, *
the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but they cannot speak; *
eyes have they, but they cannot see;

They have ears but they cannot hear; *
noses, but they cannot smell;

They have hands, but they cannot feel;
feet, but they cannot walk; *
they make no sound with their throat.

Those who make them are like them, *
and so are all who put their trust in them.

O Israel, trust in the LORD; *
he is their help and their shield.

O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; *
he is their help and their shield.

You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; *
he is their help and their shield.

The LORD has been mindful of us, and he will bless us; *
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;

He will bless those who fear the LORD, *
both small and great together.

May the LORD increase you more and more, *
you and your children after you.

May you be blessed by the LORD, *
the maker of heaven and earth.

The heaven of heavens is the LORD'S, *
but he entrusted the earth to its peoples.

The dead do not praise the LORD, *
nor all those who go down into silence;

But we will bless the LORD, *
from this time forth for evermore.
Hallelujah!

 

Lord God, creator and ruler of the universe, you have entrusted the care of the earth to its peoples. Grant that your children, surrounded by signs of your presence, may live continually in Christ, praising you through him and with him, now and forever. 

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.

 

EVENING SONG

In the Lord I'll Be Ever Thankful - Taizé

 

EVENING LESSONS

Micah 7:7-15

But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I must bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he takes my side and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall see his vindication. Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will see her downfall; now she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets. A day for the building of your walls! In that day the boundary shall be far extended. In that day they will come to you from Assyria to Egypt, and from Egypt to the River, from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. But the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their doings.

Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you, which lives alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, show us marvelous things.

Acts 3:1-10

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 

 

CONCLUDING PRAYER

In the evening, pray for:

  • peace

  • individuals and their needs

Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect for Wednesday in Holy Week:

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord. *
Thanks be to God!

The Almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. Amen.