Daily Reading for January 18 • The Second Sunday after the Epiphany and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Let us thank God that, because we are all made in his image, it is possible for all to be united. Let us thank God for the special unity which those who are new creatures in Christ Jesus can enjoy. Let us ask God to forgive the sin that has destroyed the unity he intended for humanity.
Lord of mercy: Hear our prayer.
Let us thank God for the growth of understanding between Christians of different outlooks and traditions. Let us thank God for the growth in unity of our local churches. Let us pray that we may grow together in truth and love.
Lord of mercy: Hear our prayer.
Let us pray that we may learn from Christians of other traditions. Let us pray that they may learn from us. May they and we remember that Jesus prayed for us to be sanctified in truth before he prayed for us to be one. May God so guide us that we might seek unity through the truth.
Lord of mercy: Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for our own church, that we and all its members may be filled with the spirit of faith, hope, and love, and so attain to that unity which will lead people to acknowledge the truth of the Gospel.
Lord of mercy: Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for the unity of our country, for a greater understanding and sympathy between the young and those who are older, between employers and those they employ, between migrant workers and their host communities, and between the Church and those who have rejected organized religion.
Lord of mercy: Hear our prayer.
Finally, let us pray for the unity of the world, for reconciliation, peace and compassion between rich and poor, white and people of color, followers of one religion and another, and nations which have long been embattled against each other.
Lord of mercy: Hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles, “Peace I give to you; my own peace I leave with you”: Regard not our sins, but the faith of your Church, and give to us the peace and unity of that heavenly City, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, now and for ever. Amen.
From Prayers for Today’s Church and The Book of Common Prayer (1979) quoted in The Wideness of God’s Mercy: Litanies to Enlarge Our Prayer, revised and updated edition, compiled and adapted by Jeffery Rowthorn with W. Alfred Tisdale. Copyright © 2007. Used by permission of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY. www.churchpublishing.org