Let Them Overflow with Thankfulness
My Faith Looks Up to Thee
My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior Divine;
Now hear me while I pray;
Take all my guilt away;
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine.
May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire;
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire.
While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my Guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
All thru life’s transient dream,
Until death’s sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll,
Blest Savior, with Thy love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Make me Thy grace to prove
Transform my soul.
(hymn by Ray Palmer, photo via pixabay.com)
I Would Trust You Completely
I desire that I may feel no sense of possessing anything outside of you.
I want constantly to be aware of your overshadowing Presence and to hear your speaking Voice.
I long to live in restful sincerity of heart.
I want to live so fully in the Spirit that all my thought may be as sweet incense ascending to you and every act of my life may be an act of worship.
Therefore I pray in the words of your great servant of old, “I beseech Thee so for to cleanse the intent of mine heart with the unspeakable gift of Thy grace, that I may perfectly love Thee and worthily praise Thee.”
And all this I confidently believe you will grant me through the merits of Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.
(a prayer by A.W Tozer in The Pursuit of God, updated slightly; photo via pixabay.com)
The Beauty of Small, Homely Things
Sunlight through a jar of beach-plum jelly...
A rainbow in soapsuds in dishwater...
An eggyolk in a blue bowl...
White ruffled curtains sifting moonlight...
The color of cranberry glass...
A little cottage with blue shutters...
Crimson roses in an old stone crock...
The smell of newly baked bread...
Candlelight on old brass...
The soft brown of a cocker spaniel's eyes...
Thank you, in Jesus' name, amen.
(based on lines from Peter Marshall; photo via pixabay.com)
For the Troubles
Sovereign Lord,
I thank you
for the troubles I have had in my soul,
for by them you continue to teach me humility.
You give life, Lord,
and you have given new life to my spirit.
All my suffering
has been for your purposes,
for good and not evil.
You have saved me from destruction,
and cast my sins behind you.
You have lifted me from the pit,
that I might praise you
with my words and with my life.
Well, then, I will praise you,
like a father telling his children
a thrilling bedtime story.
I will praise you
like a gifted Gospel singer
belting out "How Great Thou Art."
I will praise you
all the days of my life. Amen.
(based on Isaiah 38:15-20; the illustration above is by Stacy Lee, available for purchase here)
Chorus X
Too bright for mortal vision.
O Greater Light,
we praise You for the less;
The eastern light
our spires touch at morning,
The light that slants
upon our western doors at evening,
The twilight over
stagnant pools at batflight,
Moon light and star light,
owl and moth light,
Glow-worm glowlight on a grassblade.
O Light Invisible, we worship You!
We thank You for the lights that we have kindled,
The light of altar and of sanctuary;
Small lights of those who meditate at midnight
And lights directed through the colored panes of windows
And light reflected from the polished stone,
The gilded carven wood, the colored fresco.
Our gaze is submarine, our eyes look upward
And see the light that fractures through unquiet water.
We see the light but see not whence it comes.
O Light Invisible, we glorify You!
In our rhythm of earthly life, we tire of light.
We are glad when the day ends, when the play ends; and ecstasy is too much pain.
We are children quickly tired: children who are up in the night and fall asleep as the rocket is fired; and the day is long for work or play.
We tire of distraction or concentration, we sleep and are glad to sleep,
Controlled by the rhythm of blood and the day and the night and the seasons.
And we must extinguish the candle, put out the light and relight it;
Forever must quench, forever relight the flame.
Therefore we thank You for our little light, that is dappled with shadow.
We thank You who has moved us to building, to finding, to forming at the ends of our fingers and beams of our eyes.
And when we have built an altar to the Invisible Light, we may set thereon the little lights for which our bodily vision is made.
And we thank You that darkness reminds us of light.
O Light Invisible, we give You thanks for Your great glory!
(a prayer of T. S. Eliot; photo via everystockphoto.com)
Unhurry Me
I notice that you
were never in a hurry,
never ran,
but always had time
for the pressing necessities
of the day.
Give me that
disciplined, poised life,
so that I have time always
for the things that matter.
Amen.
(from the August 16 reading
of E. Stanley Jones's
The Way)
For TruPlay
Lord, thank you for allowing me the honor and joy of writing games, comics, and videos with TruPlay Games. Thank you that the app has launched so successfully on iOS and Google Play. Thank you for the vision and crazy good talents and skills that have created this product.
Lord, please bless these efforts. Abundantly. Exceeding abundantly, above all that we could ask or imagine. Bring it to the attention of families, parents, and kids, and let the life-changing and game-changing potential of our efforts be realized, fully, and quickly, in Jesus' name, amen.
Success and Blessing
Lord, teach me please
the difference between
success
and
and
blessing.
Amen.
Amen.
(photo by Illiya Vjestica via unsplash.com)
Tired Prayer
Lord God, I'm tired.
But thank you for work,
even work that makes me tired.
Thank you for the breath to feel out of breath,
and for the consciousness to feel all but unconscious,
amen.
(Photo by Cris Saur via unsplash.com)
Silently Now
Ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!
(from a hymn by Clara H. Scott; photo illustration by benhoefer via pixabay.com)
Song of the Three Young Men
Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers;You are worthy of praise; glory to You.
Glory to you for the radiance of Your holy Name;
We will praise You and highly exalt You forever.
Glory to You in the splendor of Your temple;
On the throne of Your majesty, glory to You.
Glory to You, seated between the Cherubim;
We will praise You and highly exalt You forever.
Glory to You, beholding the depths;
In the high vault of heaven, glory to You.
Glory to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
We will praise You and highly exalt You forever!
(“Song of the Three Young Men," an apocryphal addition to the ancient versions of the canonical text of the Book of Daniel)
Voice Like Many Waters
I praise you, Lord, for your voice: the voice like many waters,
like a mighty waterfall;
the still, small voice;
the voice in the flaming bush;
the voice Samuel heard;
the voice like thunder at Jesus' baptism;
the voice of compassion that said,
"Do you want to get well?";
the voice that calmed the storm;
the voice that Mary Magdalene heard at the empty tomb;
the voice that said,
"your sins are forgiven,"
the voice that said,
"neither do I condemn thee,"
the voice that speaks in every page
of your marvelous word,
and the voice of your Spirit who says,
"This is the way; walk in it."
Please attune my ears--
physical AND spiritual--
to hear your voice,
whenever and wherever you speak,
in Jesus' name, amen.
(artwork: "Still Small Voice" by Barbara Taylor Hall; see here for more information)
I Need Your Wisdom
Whatever you teach me is all I have for others, God. I must be wise if we are to succeed, and you know I am not naturally wise. Too often I am a fool, tricked so easily by my own personality, deceived by my own ignorance, blinded by my proud determination to win, and misled by my logic. Sometimes my spirit is asleep or busy elsewhere or just encrusted with all my own exquisite rationalizing. I need your wisdom.If I were brilliant, if I had the knowledge and strengths that I admire in so many other people, if I were a spiritual giant, I would simply ask you to help me do my best. But my best is not good enough. I do not know enough, and I cannot see clearly enough. I am your child, and I want to learn, but unless your Spirit teaches me, I have little to offer. I need your wisdom.
What you give me determines the success or failure of those I lead. They deserve some word, they need a message. How else will they understand our situation and how it informs our direction and points to a worthy purpose? I have studied and analyzed all I can. Teach me to go beyond the facts and feelings. My spirit waits quietly. I need your wisdom.
Teach me, God, so I have some wisdom to share.
(a prayer by Richard Kriegbaum, from Leadership Prayers, pp. 14-15)
To Greet the Coming Day in Peace
Help me in all things to rely upon your holy will.
In every hour of the day reveal your will to me.
Bless my dealings with all who surround me.
Teach me to treat all that comes to me
throughout the day with peace of soul,
and with the firm conviction that your will governs all.
In all my deeds and words
guide my thoughts and feelings.
In unforeseen events,
let me not forget that all are sent by you.
Teach me to act firmly and wisely,
without embittering and embarrassing others.
Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day
and all that it shall bring.
Direct my will, teach me to pray,
pray in me. Amen.
(a prayer of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, revised slightly; photo by volkanolmez via unsplash.com)
Plea
O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
for you hate all who do evil.
You will destroy those who tell lies.
The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.
(from Psalm 5:4-6 NLT; photo by Levi Meir Clancy via unsplash.com)
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