Word of Encouragement (12/31/2021)

Here is another excellent evening prayer to bring this week (and year) to a close:

“O CREATOR of all things, I lift up my heart in gratitude to you for the happiness I have found today:

For the sheer joy of living;

For all the sights and sounds around me;

For the sweet peace of the country and the bustle of the town;

For friendship and good company;

For work to do and the skill and strength to do it;

For a time to rest and play and for health and a glad heart to enjoy it.

“Yet let me never think, O eternal Father, that I am here to stay. Let me always remember that I am a stranger and pilgrim on earth. For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Lord, by your grace prevent me from losing myself so much in the joys of earth that I have no longing left for the purer joys of heaven. Do not let the happiness of today become a trap to my overworldly heart. And if today instead of happiness I have suffered my disappointment or defeat, if there has been any sorrow where I hoped for joy, or sickness where I looked for health, give me grace to accept it as a loving reminder that this is not my home.

“Thank you, Lord, that you have set eternity so firmly in my heart that no earthly thing can ever fully satisfy me. Thank you that every present joy is so mixed with sadness and unrest that it makes my mind look up to the prospect of a more perfect joy. Above all, thank you for the sure hope and promise of eternal life in your presence, which you have given me in the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.”

‍