'Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.' ~ Colossians 4:2 (NLT)
I
came across a prayer some 20 years ago, on the inside cover of a little daily
devotional booklet called ‘Forward Day by Day,’ which I found on a table in the
narthex of the Episcopal church where my husband and I were married.
I
remember being so captivated and moved by the sweetness, simplicity and
sincerity of its wording. For me, it was like a prayer, a poem and a song all
rolled into one wonderful package.
I carried the booklet with me everywhere,
using the prayer during whatever quiet moments I could find during the course of my day, as well
as reaching for it whenever a time of chaos and crisis would hit (which back
then, seemed much too often).
A
few years later, after my husband stopped attending church with me, I left that
particular church with much sadness and began looking for another one. None of the churches I attended afterwards, nor
the church I finally wound up calling ‘home’ for many years, carried this
particular devotional booklet. They offered others which I began to use and learned to be content with.
I soon forgot about ‘Forward Day by Day,’ but every so often,
some of the words from that wonderful prayer it contained would come back to
me. Yet, as years passed, it became cloudy as to where in the world I had read
or heard of that prayer.
So,
imagine my delight when, this past weekend as I was taking photos of some
historic sites in a little town that neighbors my own, I stopped in a very old,
very lovely and very small church – and found a few copies of ‘Forward Day by
Day’ displayed on a table in the back!
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| Christ Episcopal Church, Bordentown, NJ |
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| Christ Episcopal Church, Bordentown, NJ |
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| Christ Episcopal Church, Bordentown, NJ |
Also to my great joy, the
prayer is STILL contained within the devotional, this time located on the back of the
booklet. The prayer is written by
American clergyman and author, Phillips Brooks, and it’s my privilege today to
share it with you here.
It’s
my sincere hope and desire that, during this Lenten season AND every day, it will encourage, inspire and bless you, as
well as draw you closer to the One Who loves you beyond what you could ever
imagine:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O
God,
Give
me strength to live another day;
Let
me not lose faith in other people;
Keep
me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery or meanness;
Preserve
me from minding little stings or giving them;
Help
me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no
outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open
wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant
me this day some new vision of thy truth;
Inspire
me with the spirit of joy and gladness, and make me the cup of strength to
suffering souls;
In
the name of the strong Deliverer, our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
