Engage

God, help me to engage fully with life and to accept change.

(after Touchstones, 27 March)

31 March 2012

Becoming More Christlike

Becoming More Christlike

Lord, help me to recognize the ways I can become more Christlike every day. (Gina Bridgeman, Daily Guideposts - 2011, 26 March) 30 March 2012

People

Lord, thank You for the people in my life who believe even when I can't. 

(Eric Fellman in Daily Guideposts - 2011, 27 March) 

29 March 2012

Light Unto The World

... the Christian is a light unto the world, not because of any quality of his own, but only because he follows Christ and looks solely to Him. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost Of Discipleship, p. 176)

Deliver Me

Make haste, O God, to deliver me. 

(Psalm 70:1)

27 March 2012

Serenity

Serenity Prayer

I pray for quietness to help me cure my own emotional instability.  Let me use serenity to cushion the impact of whatever happens outside of me. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 9 March) 26 March 2012

To Be Christians

[To be Christians our prayer must] ... be the prayer of earnest love for those very sons of perdition who stand around and gaze at us with eyes aflame with hatred, and who have perhaps already raised their hands to kill us.  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost Of Discipleship, p. 168) 25 March 2012

Understanding

Lord, what do you want me to understand from this situation? (after A Gentle Spirit, 23 March) 24 March 2012

Good Will

I will be truthful.

I will suffer no injustice.

I will be free from fear.

I will not use force.

I will be of good will to all men.

(Mahatma Gandhi, The Little Book of Prayers by David Schiller, p.70)

God's Will Be Done

Most kind Jesus, grant, me your grace so that it may be with me and work with me and remain with me to the end.  Grant me this: always to desire and to want what is most acceptable and pleasing to you.  Let your will be mine, and let my will always follow yours and be in perfect accord with it.  Let what I want always be what you want, and let me not want anything that you do not want.

Grant that nothing in the world will be as important to me as you are, and for your sake grant that I may serve you with deep humility and love, caring little for recognition or honor.  Grant above all else, that I may rest in you and that my heart may find peace in you.  You are the heart's true peace; you are its only rest.  Apart from you everything is hard and uneasy.  Only in this peace that is you, highest and eternal Good, do I find sleep and take my rest. Amen.
(Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 3, Chapter 15, p. 103)
22 March 2012

Courage

Help me find courage enough to live this day and meet the challenges it brings. (Touchstones, 12 March) 21 March 2012

Lead Me

... open my heart and mind to be aware ... that I can be led into believing things that are not true. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 12 March) 20 March 2012

Hills To Climb

Dear God, give me hills to climb and the determination to climb them, races to win and the desire to win them.  May your power be my strength.  Amen. (The Promise of God's Power For The Graduate, p. 115)

Prayers Of Gratitude

I will start each day with prayers of gratitude that so much has been accomplished. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 4 March) 18 March 2012

Caring For Me

Dear God, thank you for caring for me enough to send Jesus Christ to love me.  May I care for and love others as you do me.  Amen. (The Promise Of God's Power For The Graduate, p. 79) 17 March 2012

Valley Of The Shadow Of Death

Photo: Death Valley, California (NASA)

A fine old age can never be taken for granted.  It represents perpetual victories and perpetual recoveries from defeats. (Andre Gide in Keepers Of The Wisdom, by Karen Casey, 15 January)

I know that death is as much a part of who I am as my birth, my job, and my retirement.  It's just the beginning of a whole other experience. (Fran Coyne, in Keepers Of The Wisdom, by Karen Casey, 25 February)

The valley of the shadow of death can be a seductive place, impossible to enjoy but hard to leave. (Harold S. Kushner, The Lord Is My Shepherd, p. 98) 16 March 2012

Quiet Time

Use quiet time to read, meditate and pray to get your mind in the right mood for the day. (after Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 4 March) 15 March 2012

Correction

If you thought more often of your death than of a long life, you would doubtless correct yourself more earnestly. (Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 21, p. 52) 14 March 2012

Our Nature

It is not in our nature

• to bear the cross,
• to love the cross,
• to discipline ourselves,
• to avoid seeking praise,
• to suffer insults willingly,
• to think humbly of ourselves,
• to appear humble to others,
• to endure adversity and loss,
• and not to seek prosperity as our first goal.

(Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, p. 80)
13 March 2012

Simple Things

I pray that I may love the simple things of life. I pray that I may keep my life uncomplicated and free. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 12 March)

Jewel - Simple Gifts

12 March 2012

Principles

It is a lot easier to affirm one's belief in a principle than actually to live by it. (Harold S. Kushner, The Lord Is My Shepherd, p. 128) 11 March 2012

Presence of God

... what is most important about God is that He is the Presence that makes the world seem less frightening. (Harold S. Kushner, The Lord Is My Shepherd, p. 15) 10 March 2012

Heaven And Hell

The battle between heaven and hell begins in our hearts, but it encompasses everything:

• economics
• culture
• religion
• politics

(Johann Christoph Arnold, Escape Routes, p. 119-20)

9 March 2012

A Spiritual Person

A spiritual person walks with God in his heart, and he is not won over by what others say and do. (Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 2, Chapter 6, p. 71) 8 March 2012

Answers To Prayer

Make me aware of your presence O God, even when the answers to my prayers are not what I want or expect. (The Upper Room Disciplines - 2008, 18 June) 7 March 2012

Patience

Give me patience, Father, to wait for the blessing You're sending my way. (Mary Lou Carney, in Daily Guideposts - 2010, 25 February) 6 March 2012

Abundant Life

I pray that I may learn to live the abundant life.  I pray that I may enjoy a close contact with God this day and be glad in it. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 23 February) 5 March 2012

I'm Not Finished Yet

Our spiritual side has no shame about being incomplete.  It understands that incompleteness is an element of being human. (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 46)

Unanswered Prayers

How many of the world's prayers have gone unanswered because those who prayed did not endure to the end? (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 19 February) 3 March 2012

In God's Hands

I pray that I may follow God's guidance, so that spiritual success shall be mine.  I pray that I may never doubt the power of God and so take things into my own hands. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 19 February) 2 March 2012

Divine Guidance

As I continue on my spiritual journey, I will seek and follow Divine Guidance and know there is always a place prepared for me. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 29 February) 1 March 2012