Zion Lutheran Church (LCMS)

A Guide for Daily Prayer and Meditation: March 30 – April 6, 2025

Pray and confess out loud as much as you are able or based on your family size and ages. (Alternative orders in LSB pp295-8)

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The sign of the cross + may be made by all in remembrance of their baptism.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Hymn of the Month for March LSB 921 Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Hymn of the Month for April LSB 483 With High Delight Let Us Unite

One or more verses from the hymn of the month are sung, or another hymn may be chosen.

Verse of the Week: Luke 15:22,24

The father said to his servants, “This my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”

Daily Lectionary

The Lord’s Prayer: The Third Petition

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What does this mean?

 The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.

How is God’s will done?

 God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die.  This is His good and gracious will.

   (Go to bottom of next page for related Bible verses and/or excerpts from Large Catechism.)

The Apostles’ Creed is confessed † Lord’s Prayer † Prayers for Others and Ourselves (see LSB 305-318 for prayers)

In Our Prayers: Those who are suffering:  Shirley Arndt, Fred Burkart (Tiffany Drinkman’s father), Anita Dommer, Dan Drinkman, JoAnn Ehlers, Lois Eichinger, Louis and Mary Gettler, Harold Grunwald (Susan’s father), Richard Hanson, Marlys Jones, Pastor Jones, Rick Lahner (Carter’s grandfather), Greg Leland, Missy Lien (Thomas family friend), Lacie Miles (Chrystal’s sister-in-law), Marlene Paulson (Dianne Schroeder’s sister), Kathy Peterson, Doris Post,  Mark Radl, Dianne Schroeder, Kara Simmons (Pastor & Susan Thomas’ goddaughter), Leah Sparks (Marty Swearingen’s sister), Pastor Szedlak, Jeff Thomas, Ethel Vance, Cookie Ziebarth

Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Prayer based on The Lord’s Prayer: The Third Petition[1]

Merciful Father, ruler of all things in heaven and on earth, we acknowledge that Your good and gracious will is done without our prayer. We pray that You would defeat all that opposes Your will: the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature. In Your mercy, we implore You to strengthen and keep us firm in Your Word and faith all the days of our lives and bring us at last the inheritance You have prepared for us in Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Excerpts from the Large Catechism on the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer

-In a good government it is not only necessary that there be those who build and govern well. It is also necessary to have those who defend, offer protection, and maintain it firmly. So in God’s kingdom, although we have prayed for the greatest need—for the Gospel, faith, and the Holy Spirit, that He may govern us and redeem us from the devil’s power—we must also pray the God’s will be done. For there will be strange events if we are to abide in God’s will. We shall have to suffer many thrusts and blows on that account from everything that seeks to oppose and prevent the fulfillment of the first two petitions. (415:61)

-   No one can believe how the devil opposes and resists these prayers. He cannot allow anyone to teach or to believe rightly. It hurts him beyond measure to have his lies and abominations exposed, which have been honored under the most fancy, sham uses of the divine name. It hurts him when he himself is disgraced, is driven out of the heart, and has to let a breach be made in his kingdom. Therefore, he chafes and rages as a fierce enemy with all his power and might. He marshals all his subjects and, in addition, enlists the world and our own flesh as his allies. (415-416:62)

-We pray without ceasing, “Dear Father, Your will be done, not the devil’s will or our enemies’ or anything that would persecute and suppress Your holy Word or hinder Your kingdom. Grant that we may bear with patience and overcome whatever is to be endured because of Your Word and kingdom, so that our poor flesh may not yield or fall away because of weakness or sluggishness.” (416:67)

Bible verses for meditation on the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer 

• 2 Corinthians 12:9; Romans 8:28, 38-39
   

[1] Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. St. Louis: Concordia, 2017.