Prayer and Fasting for GAFCON - Day 20

Opening Sentence
O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth stand in awe of him.

Psalm 96:9

A Psalm of Ascent
Psalm 134
Ecce nunc

Behold now, praise the LORD, * all ye servants of the LORD;
2 Ye that by night stand in the house of the LORD, * even in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, * and praise the LORD.
4 The LORD that made heaven and earth * give thee blessing out of Sion.

(USA, The Book of Common Prayer, 1928)

Collect
O God, who hast made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the whole earth, and didst send thy blessed Son to preach peace to them that are far off and to them that are nigh; Grant that all men everywhere may seek after thee and find thee. Bring the nations into thy fold, pour out thy Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten thy kingdom; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

“For Missions,” The Book of Common Prayer (USA, 1928)

Lesson (from Morning Prayer, BCP 1928)
And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

Luke 6:39-49 (NKJV)

From the Great Litany
O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth;
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world;
Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Ghost, Sanctifier of the faithful;
Have mercy upon us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God;
Have mercy upon us….

…We sinners do beseech thee to hear us, O Lord God; and that it may please thee to rule and govern thy holy Church universal in the right way;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee so to rule the heart of thy servant, The President of the United States [or of this nation], that he may above all things seek thy honour and glory;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to bless and preserve all Christian Rulers and Magistrates, giving them grace to execute justice, and to maintain truth;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to illuminate all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with true knowledge and understanding of thy Word; and that both by their preaching and living they may set it forth, and show it accordingly;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to send forth labourers into thy harvest;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to bless and keep all thy people;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to give to all nations unity, peace, and concord;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord….



Second Lesson (from Morning Prayer, BCP 1928)
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us:

‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles. And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them, they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region. And they were preaching the gospel there.

Acts 13:44-14:7 (NKJV)

A GAFCON Pilgrim’s Perspective
“My prayer for our time in Jerusalem is first for each participant, be they Primatial, Ordained or Lay, to have a holy encounter with the living God. I hope that we can see, hear and feel His presence as we worship, pray, fellowship and deliberate together about the future of this communion that God has called us into. I am personally praying for this conference to be the beginning of an awesome revival and reformation in the Anglican church, for the Holy spirit to be so present and so active in our midst that we can do naught but fall on our faces before Him in humility and thanksgiving. That is the seed and the foundation for any decisions that we might make towards reformation.”

Barclay Mayo, priest at Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church, Pender Harbour, BC

A Heritage Reflection
“Perfect, O God, what Thou hast begun in me; inspire me with such a lively sense and clear knowledge of Thy love, that I may be able to convince others of the blessedness and the necessity of holiness, and the way to attain it, through Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Bishop Thomas Wilson (1663-1755)
Works (Vol. II)