Prayer LII
O Lord, may it be true of us, when we pray, that it is not we that speak, but Thy Spirit in us. May our desires be inbreathed by Thyself, that our prayers may’ be sweet and acceptable since Thou hast given the Spirit by which we pray.
O Lord, we would not prescribe to Thee, we would not bring to Thee our hot and foolish longings and wishes to Thy Throne. We ask that deepest of all in us may be the Master’s prayer, ‘Nevertheless not my will, but Thine.’ So help us, we pray Thee, to live in peace because we live in submission and in trust. And may we find that all things are good to us because we are ready to accept what God appoints, and to be fellow-workers with Him in getting the most out of it, for our profit and growth in godlikeness. We pray Thee to lead each of us in paths of righteousness, to strengthen our feeble desires and resolves that we may run with patient perseverance the race which Thou dost appoint, and carry the solemn sanctions of Thy gracious will which makes duty of everything that we do.
Forgive, O Lord, all the imperfection, the blots and stains, the interruptions and the rebellions in our daily lives; and help us more and more to bring our whole being into union with Thyself, that thoughts, wishes, affections, purposes, efforts, aims, may all be taught, inspired, and directed by Thee.
And now, O Lord, we pray for Thy blessing to rest upon us in our various occupations; be near us according to our special present circumstances. Reveal Thyself to the sorrowful as Thou indeed art, the only sufficient Comforter Who knows how to handle wounds without hurting them, and to so bind them up that the bandage shall not pain. Be near any of us that are in trial or difficulty, and we beseech Thee to be in sick-chambers with those that are in pain, and with those that watch them in anxiety and sorrow. We pray that Thou wouldst guide us all, according to Thy diverse will concerning us, which yet, in all its diversity, is one at bottom.
Bless all Christian people, all Christian workers at home and abroad. Send out Thy light and Thy truth, and let them guide the stumbling nations, and those that sit in darkness, into wholesome activity, and walking in the way of God. Break Thou the bow, O Lord, and cut the spear in sunder, and turn the swords into ploughshares, and the spears into pruning-hooks. We beseech Thee that Thou wouldst subdue passions and hatreds, and all the selfish purposes which lead men to wage war against each other, and that Thou wouldst establish the Kingdom of peace throughout all the earth. Be near us now; grant us Thy blessing in our worship; guide us and teach us, and help us to receive Thy teaching and guidance, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.