In You, Only in You

Lord, I am helpless without you.
I am powerless without you.
I am wholly, thoroughly inadequate without you.
I am empty, weak, ineffectual without you.

But in you, abiding in you, only in you
I am more than a conqueror. 

In you, I can move mountains.
In you, I can scale a wall,
overthrow kingdoms,
shut the mouths of lions,
rout armies...
in you, abiding in you and walking in your Spirit,
I can face all things through Christ, who is my strength. Amen.

When I Look into Your Holiness

Pierce Our Souls with Your Love

O God and Lord of the Powers,

and Maker of all creation,

Who, because of your clemency

and incomparable mercy,

sent your Only-Begotten Son

and our Lord Jesus Christ

for the salvation of mankind,

and with His venerable Cross

tore asunder the record of our sins,

and thereby conquered the rulers and powers of darkness;

receive from us sinful people, O merciful Master,

these prayers of gratitude and supplication,

and deliver us from every destructive and gloomy transgression,

and from all visible and invisible enemies who seek to injure us.

Nail down our flesh with reverential fear of you,

and let not our hearts be inclined to words or thoughts of evil,

but pierce our souls with your love,

that ever contemplating you,

being enlightened by you,

and discerning you,

the unapproachable and everlasting Light,

we may unceasingly render confession and gratitude to you:

The eternal Father, with your Only-Begotten Son,

and with your All-Holy, Gracious, and Life-Giving Spirit, 

now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

(a prayer of St. Basil, slightly modernized; photo by Jacob Bentzinger via Unsplash.com)

Refuge

 

May I So Know What I Desire

 

Witness to Your Kindness

I give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. I give praise and thanks to you for the privilege that is mine to witness to your kindness, to your beauty, to your great salvation. I confess that it is both privilege and pain to me—-sweet and bitter. I ask you, please, to make me faithful to speak at your urging and to refrain at your prompting. Light my lamp, and keep it burning. Make my witness bold and unconquerable, reminding me that by your grace and in your strength I can have a greater impact than that of earthquakes and armies. Amen.

(a prayer from the upcoming book, How to Survive the End of the World)

In You