For Missions
Good Hand
Abba, please put your "good hand" (Ezra 7:9) on me today.
Amen.
(photo by marvelmozhko via pixabay.com)
Latchstring
understandable to even me,
I thank you for putting the latchstring so low I can reach it.
I can reach the Highest, for you are the Highest become lowly, reachable.
And so I come, for in You I "see" everything I need. I thank you.
(A prayer of E. Stanley Jones)
Descend Upon My Heart
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as you are,
And make me love you as I ought to love.
Teach me to feel that you are always nigh;
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear,
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.
Teach me to love you as your angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame;
The baptism of the Heaven-descended Dove,
My heart an altar and your love the flame.
(From a hymn of George Croly, slightly revised; photo by keiutruongphoto via pixabay.com)
Give Us This Day
Give us this day our daily bread,
our daily love,
our daily light,
our daily breath,
our daily sight,
our daily word,
our daily warmth,
our daily work,
our daily strength,
our daily help,
our daily smiles,
our daily hope,
our daily trials,
our daily tests,
our daily trust,
our daily rest,
our daily run
from sun to sun,
until this earthly life is done,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Incline My Heart
incline my heart
to run to your will and not from it...
when it pleases me, and when it doesn't...
when I am at peace,
and when I am in turmoil...
when you call me to ease
and when you call me to sorrow,
for in your will is your wisdom,
and in obedience
is my peace. Amen.
(photo by wal_172619 via pixabay.com)
Let My Soul Meet Thee There
When shall I come unto the healing waters?
Lifting my heart, I cry to Thee my prayer.
Spirit of peace, my Comforter and Healer,
In whom my springs are found, let my soul meet Thee there.
From a hill I know,
Healing waters flow;
O rise, Emmanuel's tide,
And my soul overflow.
Wash from my hands the dust of earthly striving,
Take from my mind the stress of secret fear;
Cleanse Thou the wounds from all but Thee far hidden,
And when the waters flow let my healing appear.
Light, life and love are in that healing fountain;
All I require to cleanse me and restore;
Flow through my soul, redeem its desert places,
And make a garden there for the Lord I adore.
(a prayer of General Albert Orsborn of The Salvation Army)
Too Little the Kingdom of God
Our loving Father, from Thy hand have come all the days of the past. To Thee we look for whatever good the future holds. We are not satisfied with the world as we have found it. It is too little the kingdom of God as yet. Grant us the privilege of a part in its regeneration. We are looking for a new earth in which dwells righteousness. It is our prayer that we may be children of light, the kind of people whose coming and ministry the world is waiting. Amen. (from the Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers Project, "Prayers" section)
Deepest Awe
Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house.
I will worship at your temple with deepest awe,
in spirit and truth,
in Jesus' name, amen.
(based on Psalm 5:7 and John 4:24; photo by WikiImages via pixabay.com)
Hem Me In
God, my King, my Father,as you accomplished your willthrough such unlikely candidates asAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob,perfectly and thoroughly and without hindrance (Isaiah 43:13),so do in me:hem me in,stack the odds,do all, Lord, to make me your instrument,your vessel,your tool...take my all and let it be usefulfor accomplishing what you willwhen you willas you will,in Jesus' name, amen.
(photo by pasja1000 via pixabay.com)
Crag
God, you are my fortress, my mountain crag,
my stronghold,
my safehouse,
my defender,
my armor,
my coat of Kevlar,
my tower,
my help,
my rescuer,
my Marines,
my cavalry,
my Dread Warrior,
my mountain of strength,
my salvation at all times, and
my miracle at the eleventh hour.
Wild Heart
O Lord,I have a wild heart
And cannot stand before thee;
I am like a bird before a man.
How little I love thy truth and ways!
I neglect prayer,
By thinking I have prayed enough and earnestly,
By knowing thou hast saved my soul.
Of all hypocrites,
grant that I may not be an evangelical hypocrite,
Who sins more safely because grace abounds,
Who tells his lusts that Christ’s blood cleanseth them,
Who reasons that God cannot cast him into hell, for his is saved,
Who loves evangelical preaching, churches, Christians, but lives unholily.
My mind is a bucket without a bottom,
With no spiritual understanding,
No desire for the Lord’s Day,
Ever learning but never reaching the truth,
Always at the gospel well but never holding water.
My conscience is without conviction or contrition,
With nothing to repent of.
My will is without power of decision or resolution.
My heart is without affection, and full of leaks.
My memory has no retention,
So I forget so easily the lessons learned,
And thy truths seep away.
Give me a broken heart that yet carries home the water of grace.
(from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers, edited by Arthur Bennett)
Seedling
Plant your grace within our hearts, O Lord, that we might find all our delight in you.
(today's prayer from Unveiling Mercy by Chad Bird; photo by ManfredRichter via pixabay.com)
Drown Me in You
Oh, Lord, by your gracious and blessed salvation,
let me enter fully into you and into your presence,
your fellowship,
your infinite sufficiency.
I take you, Lord, as my all.
I take you as my ENOUGH.
I take you as my sufficiency.
Please rid me of all but you.
Cleanse me of all that is not of you.
Give me you.
Fill me with you.
Drown me in you.
Amen.
My Humble Breathings
O God of grace,I bewail my cold,
listless,
heartless prayers;
their poverty adds sin to my sin.
If my hope were in them
I should be undone,
But the worth of Jesus perfumes my feeble breathings,
and wins their acceptance.
Deepen my contrition of heart,
Confirm my faith in the blood that washes from all sin.
May I walk lovingly with my great Redeemer.
Flood my soul with true repentance
that my heart may be broken for sin and unto sin.
Let me be as slow to forgive myself
as thou art ready to forgive me.
Gazing on the glories of thy grace
may I be cast into the lowest depths of shame.
and walk with downcast head now thou art pacified towards me.
O my great High Priest,
pour down upon me streams of needful grace,
bless me in all my undertakings,
in every thought of my mind,
every word of my lips,
every step of my feet,
every deed of my hands.
Thou didst live to bless,
die to bless,
rise to bless,
ascend to bless,
take thy throne to bless,
and now thou dost reign to bless.
O give sincerity to my desires,
earnestness to my supplications,
fervour to my love.
(from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers, edited by Arthur Bennett)
Shine Into Our Hearts
Almighty and everlasting God, who has made known the incarnation of your Son by the bright shining of a star, which, when the wise men beheld, they presented costly gifts and adored your majesty; grant that the star of your righteousness may always shine into our hearts; and that, as our treasure, we may give ourselves and all we possess to your service, through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.
(from the Gelasian Sacramentary; image by Pancho_2323chivas via pixabay.com)
On the Unknown Waters of This New Year
Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit,
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbour,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.
Give me grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer,
thy wisdom to watch,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear be my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.
(from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers, edited by Arthur Bennett)