Prayer LXI
Give us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, more and more of that helping Spirit to shape our desires and to make our petitions for ourselves and intercession for others conformable to Thy holy will. We thank Thee for all the breadth of assurance, that if we make intercession according to Thy will Thou hearest us; and we would not complain of the limits, for when we are wisest we do not, in our deepest hearts, desire anything that is not in accordance with Thy will. But bow us, we pray Thee, in continual and peaceful submission, and so help us to live exempt from care, and having that great tranquillity which comes to those whose wills are filled with Thine. O Lord, strengthen us day by day that we may live in accordance with our highest conceptions of our duty and relations to Thee, to ourselves, and to others. Keep us from the many temptations and errors which are always seeking to lower our standards, and dwarf our vision, and make our aims worldly and mean. And help us to follow in Christ’s footsteps, and walking to that Light of life as our guiding pillar may we know nothing of darkness.
Help us in our worship; give us Thy words. So shape our utterance, we beseech Thee, that it may present no obstacle to the reception of Thy truth, but may in some humble measure further the same. Oh! purify our motives as we hear and speak. May we not allow by-ends to come in and mar our service and pollute it. Teach us what to say and how to say it, what to hear and how to obey and live. Bless each of us according to our different needs. Go with us in all the variety of the earthly circumstances, difficulties, and joys. If any of us are in sorrow and in trouble let Thy light shine through the mist, change it into a golden glory, and may our sorrows lead us nearer and nearer to Thyself, and then they will be Thy messengers. May we hear in them all the great voice that says to us ‘Come up hither.’ Take us, O Lord, into Thy gracious keeping; watching over us, love and bless us. Thou wilt be with all who love Thee and try to do Thy will. Clear away, then, our minds from errors, deepen in our lives the influences of Thy truth. May all Thy servants be brought nearer to Thee and from Thee, by word and work. May the word of the Lord sound out. The Lord bless all the many thousands of His Israel, and watch over all who are seeking in this confused and jarring world to bring about the great harmony and order which comes to those who yield to the heavenly law, and the heavenly Lawgiver, Who is Love. Hear us as we wait before Thee; answer and forgive, we pray, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.