Morning Prayer for Monday, July 14, 2025

 

Praying the Scriptures

Monday Morning Prayer

July 14, 2025

On that day I will answer, says the LORD, I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth; and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel; and I will sow him for myself in the land. And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah, and I will say to Lo-ammi, “You are my people”; and he shall say, “You are my God.” (Hosea 2:21–23)

Lord of Heaven and Earth,

As the first rays of sunlight crown the Florida Mountains, I stand in quiet awe. The desert before me is still, painted in gold and rose. The mesquite stretches toward the light, and even the dust seems to shimmer with expectancy. I hear You in the silence—the heavens whispering to the earth, and the earth replying in grain and oil and the blush of ripening fruit. It is as if all creation is answering You, echoing the ancient promise: “You are my God.”

And here I am—once scattered like Jezreel, once named Not My People—now gathered in mercy, called Beloved. I feel it in my chest this morning: a sowing deep within the soil of my soul. You have tilled this parched heart with compassion and planted Your name in me.

You answered the heavens, Lord, and somehow You answered me too. When I cried out, unsure You’d even hear me, You did not turn away. When I wandered too far, You didn’t forget my name. You called me home.

So I answer You now, with trembling lips and grateful heart: You are my God.

Let this day rise in covenant light. Let the sky and soil, the wind and wildflowers, all proclaim what my heart now knows—I belong to You.

Amen.

May you walk into this day with the assurance that you are sown in mercy, claimed by grace, and forever called God’s beloved.

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The Bible passages come from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible, copyrighted © 1989, 1993 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America and are used by permission. All rights reserved. Praying the Scriptures is penned daily by Kenny Sallee, ThM.