Almighty and Most High God,
We thank you and praise you that, when we dwell in you, our shelter, we can trust you for refuge and fortress. We thank you that you cover your people with your guarding feathers and that under your wings we find refuge. We need not fear anything because our faithful God is our refuge. Even in the midst of the darkness that covers the earth, even when it seems there is no light in very dark places, we thank you that you are the Light of the World, Jesus. Thank you that when we follow you we don’t walk in darkness but have the Light of Life. Fill us with the knowledge of who you are, with the wisdom and understanding that Holy Spirit gives, and help us to live a life worthy of you. Help us to grow in our knowledge of you so we have great endurance and patience. We give joyful thanks to you who have called us into your Kingdom of Light and Life. Help us to love others well so that your Light can be seen and your Word can go forth. In the strong and brilliant name of Christ we pray, Amen.
“Darkness now covers the earth,
and thick darkness covers the nations.
But the Lord dawns,
and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings will come to the brightness of your dawn.”
(Isa. 60:2-3 GW)
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91 NIV)
““I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NIV)
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:9-14 NIV)
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35 NIV)