Evening Devotion

Thursday, January 01, 2026
Lectionary Day: 01 Jan

"If such an abundance of good thoughts comes to us we ought to disregard the other petitions, make room for such thoughts, listen in silence, and under no circumstances obstruct them. The Holy Spirit himself preaches here, and one word of his sermon is far better than a thousand of our prayers. Many times I have learned more from one prayer than I might have learned from much reading and speculation." — Martin Luther

Opening

▼

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.

Let my prayer rise before You as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2

Joyous light of glory:
of the immortal Father;
heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ.
We have come to the setting of the sun,
and we look to the evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
You are worthy of being praised with pure voices forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life: the universe proclaims Your glory.

Psalmody

▼

Psalm 141

A Psalm of David.
¹ O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
² Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
³ Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!
⁴ Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!
⁵ Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
⁶ When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷ As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
⁸ But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
⁹ Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers!
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. (ESV)

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.

Reading

▼

Isaiah 25:6-9

⁶ On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
⁷ And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
⁸ He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
⁹ It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (ESV)

Old Testament Reading

Isaiah 61:1-11

¹ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
⁵ Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
⁶ but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.
⁷ Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.
⁸ For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed.
¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. (ESV)

New Testament Reading

Luke 1:57-80

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.
⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
⁵⁹ And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father,
⁶⁰ but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.”
⁶¹ And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.”
⁶² And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called.
⁶³ And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered.
⁶⁴ And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
⁶⁵ And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea,
⁶⁶ and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
⁶⁹ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
⁷⁰ as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
⁷¹ that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
⁷² to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³ the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
⁷⁴ that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷ to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. (ESV)

Catechism: The First Commandment

▼

Thou shalt have no other gods.

What does this mean?

We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

Prayer: Lord God, author and source of all that is good, give us wisdom to fear Your wrath, strength to love You above all things, and faith to trust in Your promises alone, that by Your grace we may serve You all our days and finally come to inherit Your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, now and forever. Amen.

Catechism source: bookofconcord.org

Prayers

▼

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13

(You may offer your own prayers at this time)

Concluding Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou heavenly Light, whom we acknowledge as our constant Companion and Guide. As the day is past and the eventide draws near, we humbly pray that You would abide with us. Direct us from error's gloomy night, and send forth Thy beams divine on our dark souls to shine. Kindle our hearts by the Word of Thy promise, and awaken within us the good hope of everlasting life. Grant us eyes of faith that we may recognize Your presence, as You are revealed when the Holy Scriptures are opened and in the mystical union of the breaking of the bread. Be Thou our Solace, Strength, and Stay, that we may be preserved in body and in soul. Hear us for Thy name's sake, O Lord, our Savior. Amem.

Conclusion

▼

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.