CALL TO PRAYER: SUNDAY 18th October 2020 Prayer @ 7pm

Does God go with us? That is a question we might well ask at this time. Does God go with us as we journey through the latest stage of the challenge that we face personally and as a community? Does God go with us in the uncertainty of the times in which we live? If so, how do we know?

Moses led the people out of Egypt and during the subsequent journey in the wilderness it seems that the persistent questions asked of him by the people of Israel can be summed up as follows: Does God go with us? If so, how do we know? In reply, the response of the Lord is this: ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest…and I know you by name.’ In return, Moses asks that he might see the glory of the Lord. In reply, the Lord offers to put him in ‘a cleft of the rock’ as a place of safety. (Exodus 33: 14, 17, 22) The words of a traditional hymn capture the image:

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.

Does God go with us? Yes, even on the hardest journey. If so, how do we know? We know because the Lord leads us to the place of safety. We pray:

Lord, lead us
To the place where you are known

And to the assurance of your presence.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place of rest
And to the promise of renewal.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place where the people made in your image gather

And their voices are heard.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place where we are called by our name

And find acceptance in your sight.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place where we are protected

And our safety is assured.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place where your glory is revealed

And our lives are transformed in Christ.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.