Prayer CXXII

Many, O Lord our God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to usward. We bless Thee that just because we are poor and needy the Lord thinketh upon us. We come to Thee, this morning, with the lowly and yet trustful hearts which become us; and whilst on the one hand we think of the manifold transgressions which are ours, on the other we would lose these sad thoughts in those of the yet more manifold mercies which are Thine. Blessed be Thy Name! Thou art our Bef uge from ourselves, and yet we know ourselves best in our weakness and our need, in our meanness and evil, in the lurking faults which sometimes we can see, and which often rule us in the dark; we think most of Thee, and bless Thee that we can turn to Thee from all our evil, and pray Thee to purge us, to cleanse us wholly, to deliver us from all iniquity, to make us pure, and to strengthen us to keep that holy commandment which is also a most blessed promise, and to be holy as Thou art holy.

O Lord! we draw near to Thee now, humbly thanking Thee for Thy many mercies to us, for the daily blessings of our lot, for all the benefits which Thou dost scatter along our paths, and which ought to speak to our hearts and make us very trustful and peaceful.

We beseech Thee that we may understand the loving-kindness of the Lord more than we have done, and may be strengthened to apprehend the gracious meaning in all that befalls us. O that we were able to look more on the things seen and temporal as Thou dost see them, and to use them more as Thou dost mean us to employ them, as helps, whatever their character, to know Thee better, and to possess Thee more fully. We ask that we may be taught the meaning of the small and the great things in our daily lives, that we may bring them all increasingly into contact with Thyself, that whatever we do we may do as to the Lord, and then we shall do it heartily; and that whilst all other lower motives, powerful and good in their places, do influence and spur us, we may be stirred most of all, and ’ labour that whether present or absent we may be well-pleasing to Thee.’

We thank Thee that Thou hast gathered us together this morning, and whilst we are conscious of the many unfitnesses in our wandering minds and slothful spirits, and feel how hard it is to use even these outward forms which Thou hast mercifully appointed whereby we may rise to Thee, yet beseeching Thee that having given us the means Thou wouldst help us to employ them to the end; and pass, by aid of communion with one another, and the outward forms of worship, into the secret silences of the presence of the Most High, and feel that we are with Thee.

We pray for Thy pardoning mercy, for Thy quickening and cleansing grace, for that ennobling and emancipating spirit which Thou hast promised to all them that believingly wait upon Thee; and we beseech Thee that more and more all of us may be conscious of a Power mightier than ourselves, and holier than our hearts, dwelling within us, and sanctifying our hearts.

We beseech Thee to hear us as we come to Thee now, to forgive all our shortcomings, and take away anything that may stand in the way of our full entrance into the blessed privilege of Thy sanctuary. May we have fellowship with the Father and with the Son, through the Divine Spirit. Hear us, for our Lord Christ’s sake, we pray Thee.