Monday 15 May 2023

Today is Monday the 15th of May in the sixth week of Easter.


Salt of the Sound sings, ‘Praise to the Lord’.


Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation
Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near
Join me in glad adoration
Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning
Sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
If with his love he befriends you
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him
Let the Amen sound from his people again
Gladly forever adore him
Let the Amen sound from his people again
Gladly forever adore him

Today’s reading is from the Acts of the Apostles.

Acts 16.11-15

We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.

Paul and Timothy travelled far and wide telling people about Jesus.

What do I want to tell others about Jesus?

I ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind a person I could share Jesus with.

When Lydia listened to Paul telling the good news of Jesus, she heard something new about God.

How open is my heart to hearing new things about God?

What new things about God have I heard recently?


As the passage is read again, I listen for the points where Lydia’s story resonates with my own.

In these last moments of prayer, I ask the Spirit to open my heart daily to listen eagerly for God’s word for me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.