Word of Encouragement (06/27/2022)

Another morning prayer of John Baillie's to begin the week:

“I BLESS you, most gracious God, that again you have brought light out of darkness and caused the morning to appear! I bless you, because you send me out, in health and life, to the duties and activities of another day! Lord, I ask you to go with me through all the sunlit hours and protect me from every evil way, so that when evening comes, I do not need to hide my head in shame.

“Lord, in your gracious love you have called me to be your servant, and I hold myself in readiness today for even your smallest command. Give me the spirit to keep myself in continual training for the prompt fulfillment of your most holy will.

Help me keep the edges of my mind keen;

Help me keep my thinking straight and true;

Help me keep my passions in control;

Help me keep my will active;

Help me keep my body fit and healthy;

Help me remember him whose food it was to do the will of the One who sent him.

“O Lord of every workplace, bless all who truly desire to serve you by being diligent and faithful in their many callings, bearing their share of the world’s burden and going about their daily tasks with simplicity and uprightness of heart.

“Dear Lord, I pray—

for all who work on the land and with nature;

for all whose work involves sheer physical labor in factories, building sites, mines, and transport;

for all who buy and sell in the marketplace;

for all who labor with their mind;

for all who labor with their pens and computers;

for all whose work is the caring ministry of home and family.

“In your great mercy, save us all from the temptations that constantly surround us, and bring us to everlasting life, by the power of the cross. Amen.”

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