Word of Encouragement (08/22/2022)

A morning prayer of Baillie’s to begin the week:

“O MOST gracious God, grant that in everything that happens today I may carry with me the remembrance of the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ my Lord.

For your fatherly love shown in Jesus Christ your beloved Son;

For his readiness to suffer for us;

For the redemptive passion that filled his heart;

I praise and bless your holy name.

For the power of his cross in the history of the world since he came;

For all who have taken up their own crosses and followed him;

For the noble company of martyrs and for all who are willing to die that others may live;

For all those who freely choose to suffer for the sake of others, for pain bravely endured, for sorrows of this life that have been used for the building up of eternal joys;

I praise and bless your holy name.

“O Lord my God, you dwell in pure and blessed serenity beyond the reach of human pain, and yet you look down in unspeakable love and tenderness upon the sorrows of Earth. Give me grace, I pray, to understand the meaning of the pain and disappointments that I am called to endure. Save me from worrying. Give me a strong heart to bear my own burdens. Give me a willing heart to bear the burdens of others. Give me a believing heart to cast all my burdens on you.

“Glory be to you, O Father, and to you, O Christ, and to you, O Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.”

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