Entrance

O God, if still the holy place 

Is found of those in prayer, 

By all the promises of grace 

I claim an entrance there. 

Give me a self-denying soul, 

Enlarged and unconfined; 

Abide within me, and control 

The wanderings of the mind. 

Give me the strength of faith that dares 

To die to self each day, 

That bravely takes the cross, nor cares 

To find an easier way. 

Help me to make more sacrifice, 

To walk where Christ would lead, 

That in my life He may arise 

To hallow every deed. 

Amen.

(a prayer of General Albert Orsborn of The Salvation Army)

One Single Day

Thank you, Lord, 

for today, just one single day, 

you have given me grace to pray, 

coffee to drink, 

food to eat, 

clothes to wear. 

You allowed me 

to wake in my own bed, 

in health, 

and in (mostly) my right mind.

I have hope of meaningful work, 

innumerable comforts, 

and a happy conclusion to this day. 

By your grace, I can see, hear, touch, taste, feel.

By your grace, I know love and companionship. 

By your grace, I have the means to buy, and abundance to give. 

By your grace, I am forgiven and forgiving. 

For this and more, 

just one day's worth, 

I give you my most heartfelt thanks! 

Amen.

(photo by RachelScottYoga via pixabay.com)

Perseverance

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

I Come to Thee with Quiet Mind

Murmuring "Thou"

He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring Thou,
And dream of Pheidian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing thou art.
Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshiping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, address
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts, unless
Thou in magnetic mercy to thyself divert
Our arrows aimed unskillfully, beyond desert;
And all men are idolaters, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if thou take them at their word.

Take not, O Lord, our literal sense. Lord, in thy great,
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate.

(a prayer by C.S. Lewis; photo by zsbenko via everystockphoto.com)

The Joys of the Secret Place

Gracious, loving Father
who sees and hears in secret,
disclose to me the joys of the secret place.
Teach me to pray there,
and stay there,
and go again from there in confidence.
Grant me the rewards of the secret place,
first and foremost, the knowledge that I have been with you,
and you have met with me,
in Jesus’ name, amen.

(from The Red Letter Prayer Life, p. 32; photo by "tinyfroglet" via everystockphoto.com)

Forgive Us Our Debts

Forgive us our debts. Literally.
Forgive the things I've charged or financed
to assuage my desires
instead of waiting,
instead of saving,
instead of giving.
Forgive the money I've wasted
on impulse purchases,
interest payments,
and fees and penalties.
Forgive the consumer mentality
that makes me buy now,
pay later,
pay more in the long run.
Teach me to wait,
to save,
to resist temptation,
in Jesus' name, amen.

(photo by Chance Agrella via freerangestock.com)