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Good morning.

I hope the morning is treating you well. I must confess that I haven’t always been in a position to listen to prayers at this time in the morning, never mind leading them. I’m not by nature an early riser. When I was a newly ordained curate, morning prayer in church was at a very early time for me, and I remember once apologising for missing it, only to be told that I was there – I just had no memory of it at all!

But two things have changed my lay-a-bed habits this year, my son getting a paper round, and me getting a puppy. Both of which appear to be my responsibility. Being out and about at this time made me realise just how many people were up in the quieter hours. Some are hard at work before the alarms go off, the milk deliverers going quietly round the houses, or the vans transporting our food, as I walk my dog in these summer months I see farmers already harvesting in the field. Others are awake and walking, perhaps to walk off some anxiety which has prevented sleep, or, maybe just to enjoy the calm before the world wakes. In these sunnier months, particularly for me on busy days,  it can feel like a bit of free extra time, a secret stretch of the day , time to wonder with hope on what God will bring.

Gracious God you guard us through the silent hours of the night, and you are with us as the sun rises, new every morning. As your light dawns upon us, as the birdsong greets the day and we wonder what the morning will hold, we ask you to be with us with each step, each breath, each moment. May your grace surround us, be within us, to sustain us. May we find you in the faces of friends and strangers, may we find you in ourselves, and may we have the knowledge of your love until the sun sets and our work is done. Amen.