Sometimes, Lord, my prayers are more about me trying to convince you that my way is right rather than my asking you to show me your way. Open my heart, O Lord, to cheerfully accept your will. Lead me, so that I eagerly follow your course. Fill me with your Holy Spirit; may your will be done.
Lord, there just never seems to be enough time in my day! Guide me in setting my priorities and help me to release those things that are not adding value to my life. Lead me to a balanced life: one that is filled with service, joy, peace and love.
Oh Lord, forgive me. I don’t even have the excuse of youth for my failings. How many times will I have to make the same mistakes before I finally learn? Be patient with me, Lord, and teach me your way. Thank you for your inexhaustible forgiveness, love and mercy. Fill me with your Spirit and lead me on your path.
As I present my prayers to you, O Lord, give me joy and thanksgiving at your answers, even when they are not the answers for which I prayed!
Prayer may not change things for you, but it sure changes you for things. [Samuel M. Shoemaker]
The Bible is full of contradictory and almost absurd concepts: when we’re weak, we’re strong; to die is to live; and the more we give, the more we’ll have. We’re told the poor are rich, the persecuted will be blessed, the meek will inherit the earth, and the hungry and thirsty will be satisfied. We can only enter through the narrow gate; position, power and wealth mean nothing in God’s Kingdom; don’t worry about tomorrow and be happy when beset by trouble. When someone slaps us, we’re to offer the other cheek; when someone takes our shirt, we should give him our coat; we’re supposed love the unlovable and pray for those who persecute us. Jesus’s ways certainly seem to contradict the ways of the world.
Lord, fill us with your Holy Spirit. Help us to understand, accept and live by these concepts that seem to so impractical and paradoxical.
Valley of Vision Prayer
Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
Where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
Hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,
That to be low is to be high,
That the broken heart is the healed heart,
That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
That the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
That to have nothing is to possess all,
That to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
That to give is to receive,
That the valley is the place of vision.
[From “The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions” (Arthur Bennett, editor)]
Because we have been blessed with a free will, we have the freedom to choose between good or bad, right or wrong, obedience or rebellion. It’s wise to remember, however, that exercising free will is exactly what got Adam and Eve into trouble. Just because we are able to do something doesn’t mean we necessarily should do it! Lord, guide us in the decisions we make today.
Devotions of the Heart 