Prayer CXLII
O Lord our God, wondrous is Thy condescending love, which permits that Thou shouldst be extolled by our tongues, and does not turn away our prayer nor Thy mercy from us. We come to Thee to enlist all Thy powers of grace and goodness upon our sides; and we bless Thee that Thou dost hear us, and even though there be too often regard to iniquity in our hearts Thy pardoning mercy draws near to us, and by the manifestation of Thy great love does wean us from each other.
O help us to open our hearts to Thy gracious entrance, to be sure that Thou carest for us. May we feel more than ever we have done that in Thee are all supplies, and that Thou art infinitely able to bestow upon us Thy best, which is Thyself. Clothe us, we beseech Thee, with Thy purity. Strengthen us with Thy might; soften us by the inflow into our selfishness of Thy great love; and may we dwell so near to Thee by daily communion and aspiration and obedience that we shall more and more see all things in the light of God, and do all in His strength and for His sake.
We would acknowledge before Thee all our shortcomings and sins. We thank Thee that we can venture to bring all our evil into Thy sight. Surely Thou seest it, whether we bring it or no, and as surely Thou dost delight when we do bring it, and ask Thee to deliver us from it.
We thank Thee, O Lord, that no true wish to be set free from any evil in character is in vain in Thy sight. Thou hast wisely appointed that we must be labourers together with Thee in cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. And Thou hast mercifully granted Thy good Spirit to dwell with our weak spirits, and to arm us with might to fight the good fight. Help us daily that we may shake off the burden and death of our own evil natures and selfish lives, and that day by day we may more and more put on that new man which is evermore in the image of Him that created him.
Help us to be Christlike; to deny ourselves, and if need be to slay ourselves. If our eye offend us, and cause us to stumble, help us to pluck it out and cast it from us. Blessed be Thy Name! such mutilation is completeness; such death is life. Lord! be near us day by day, and fit us for all Thy holy will, and so fit us to receive all Thy best gifts. We bless Thee for all Thy gifts, great and small, passing and permanent; those which perish with the using, and those which grow by use. And continue to bestow upon us, and make us more capable of receiving, and more desirous of retaining. Thy highest and best gifts.
Abide with us each, in all the variety of our requirements according to our conditions, our duties, our characters, our relationship with others; and help us in all things to discharge the obligations which Thy loving providence lays upon us, for surely all Thy call to duty is a promise of strength.
We beseech Thee to hear us now, to draw near to each of us in our morning’s worship; and in Thy mercy to accept and bless us, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.