A.C.T.S. of Prayer

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER Sunday, April 28, 2019 Readings: Lesson: Acts 3:1-21 Psalm: 81:1-10 Epistle: 1 John 5:1-15 Gospel: John 20:19-31 God of faith, Your Word teaches me the importance of faith. I learn that faith has the power to heal any infirmity, to save from any danger, and to overcome any obstacle. I walk by faith, and not by sight, because faith is the evidence of things I cannot see. You bless all those who believe without seeing, and yet You do not require me to be blind. Rather, through Your Word and Sacraments, through Your creation, and through those You send my way, You continually call me to look intently and attentively, and to fix my eyes on You. I open my heart and mind to the everyday miracles You perform in my life in order to strengthen my faith. Father, when Peter and John had no money to help the crippled beggar, they offered him the healing Word of Your Son. I confess that I do not heed the cries of beggars I pass by. They call in di...

EASTER DAY Sunday, April 21, 2019 Readings: Lesson: Acts 2:22-39 Psalm: 118:15-29 Epistle: Colossians 3:1-11 Gospel: John 20:1-18 MEDITATION God of ever new life, this indeed is the day on which You have acted! For on this day, as Your holy Word teaches us, You powerfully and wondrously delivered Your ancient people Israel from bondage in Egypt. But even more powerfully and wondrously, You also delivered us, and indeed all the world, from bondage to our faults and flaws through the glorious resurrection of Jesus, Your beloved Son. I believe with all my heart that Your deliverance, Your rescue, and Your saving power were not just for Your people of old, but are also for every person throughout all time—including me. The root of Your salvation is new life and hope, joy and freedom, and You open wide the gates, that all may come in. CONFESSION Heavenly Father, I confess that I do not always live a life worthy of this deliverance. I admit that I do not always e...