Another Psalm 15

Lord, I want to live where you dwell.
I want to stay forever on your holy hill.
I ask you for the blameless walk
and the right actions
and the heart honesty that will make that happen.
I ask you to keep slander out of my mouth
and evil from my heart
nor betrayal far, far from me.
I ask you for wisdom to shun the vile,
hobnob with the holy,
walk uprightly whichever way the wind blows.
Make me a giver instead of a taker
and a defender--not offender--of the innocent,
knowing that the one who does these things shall never be moved.

See Me Safely, Purely Through

Be pleased to keep me, Lord, this day
Without committing sin,
And let me not one moment stray
From a prayerful mode within.

You can from every sin secure;
I know it is your will
To preserve your servant pure
From every touch of ill.

So, Lord, I bow before you now,
My soul on you depends,
To see me safely, purely through
Until this day shall end.

(based on a Charles Wesley hymn)

Everything

Whose Bounty Fills My Cup

O Thou whose bounty fills my cup,
With every blessing meet!
I give Thee thanks for every drop—
The bitter and the sweet.

I praise Thee for the desert road,
And for the riverside;
For all Thy goodness hath bestowed,
And all Thy grace denied.

I thank Thee for both smile and frown,
And for the gain and loss;
I praise Thee for the future crown
And for the present cross.

I thank Thee for both wings of love
Which stirred my worldly nest;
And for the stormy clouds which drove
Me, trembling, to Thy breast.

I bless Thee for the glad increase,
And for the waning joy;
And for this strange, this settled peace
Which nothing can destroy.

(a prayer of Jane Crewdson)

Why You Utter No Answer

I know now, Lord,
why you utter no answer.
You are yourself the answer.
Before your face questions die away.
What other answer would suffice?

(C. S. Lewis, in his book, Till We Have Faces; illustration is a detail from the book cover)

Contentment

Today's prayer from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad...and my prayer today for my kids and my grandkids.

For Nigeria

Lord, have mercy on the people of Nigeria.
Have mercy on your church.
Have mercy on all innocents,
all those victimized and terrorized by violence,
all those who are losing their families, homes, churches, businesses, and more.

Please bring their plight to the world's attention.
Stir up your church and mobilize the nations to help.
Bring about justice.
Defeat evil.

Stop the slaughter.
Stop the bloodshed.
Stop the tears.
in Jesus' name, amen.