Prayer XIII
O Lord, Thou art our All-in-all. May we know Thee for such, and may we take Thee for ours, and find that Thou dost supply all our need according to Thy riches in glory in Christ Jesus. We would draw near to Thee now, empty, to be filled; dark, to be illumined; weak, to be made strong; low, to be raised and supported. And we bless Thee that beyond what we can ask or think Thou art exceeding abundantly able to give, and dost long to give. We have often hindered the flow of Thy mercy and power into our hearts and lives by our own faithlessness, by our own want of desire to possess Thee, and by our eager distracting of ourselves over many things, to the obscuring of the one thing needful. But we beseech Thee at once for forgiveness and for help, that we may understand better how all our wealth is in one pearl of great price; and may be willing to give up all other if needful; and when needful, that we may clasp Thee to our hearts and keep Thee in our safest treasure-house.
We would draw near to Thee, O Lord, with humble prayer for the enlightenment of Thy wisdom, for the firm grasp of what is true, for hearts submitted to Thy will and spirits that walk close with Thee, and are therefore strong and blessed. We pray for forgiveness for all the past; we look back and see many blunders, many shortcomings, many sins. O Lord, arm us against ourselves, lift us above ourselves, make us willing to be what Thou dost will us to be, and to do what Thou dost desire we should do; and do Thou fit us day by day for all the work, for all the blessings, for all the possibilities of our daily lives. Keep us from temptation, build up the weak places in our characters, and help us to build them up. Show us the things where we fall conspicuously short or go altogether contrary to Thy holy will. And do Thou grant, we beseech Thee, that we may have no hankering after the things that we ought to get rid of, and no unwillingness to be parted from our weaknesses and our sins. Thou art ready with Thy mighty word to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart, and to sever the sinful and evil growths from us. We pray that we may submit ourselves to Thy grace, and more and more find that Thou art near us, helping us to be better than we are, and drawing us under the fuller influence of Thy full Spirit.
Hear us, O Lord, in these our prayers, and reveal Thyself to us in this our service, accompanying all its parts with the appropriate blessing, and making each of us to feel that we have really been in touch with God, and have got some blessing from His open hand. Hear us now in our petitions, forgive our many sins, and in Thy mercy accept and bless us, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.