Kingdom Prayers Muestra

Lord, be my strength. When I am overcome or overwhelmed by fatigue, or burdens, or sorrows, give me grace to persevere, not in grim resignation but in gratitude and joy for the ways You can use the situation for my good and Your glory. Give me strength also to resist pleasant and easy things that are not according to Your will for me. Do not let me be distracted or pulled aside by the pursuit of anything other than what You desire for me.

Guide my thoughts and intentions so I might not be satisfied with choosing between good and evil, but also between the good and the best. Let me find my fulfillment not in comfort and ease and pleasure, but in pleasing You by being and saying and doing nothing else than Your purpose and intention. Let me live for Your pleasure and reputation rather than my own. Let Your life be evident in and through me.

Forgive me when I stray from Your will and Your ways, when by word or deed or thought I pursue my own desires above Yours. Give me courage to deny myself and die to myself.  

Teach my heart to praise and thank You in the process because of my faith in Your love for me, a love greater than my love of self; because of my hope of a better reward than anything this world offers; and because of my love for You, who You are, and Your worthiness.

Preserve me from finding any joy or pleasure apart from You. Protect me from any satisfaction or fulfillment that comes from advancing my own reputation or power. Let me follow the One who gave Himself to serve others and who sacrificed Himself for their sake and Yours. Give me the humility and perfect obedience that arise from pure love for You and results in a life of self-giving love for others.

Thank You that although I was Your enemy, You blessed me. You loved me. You treat me not as a slave even though I am one, and indeed an unworthy one. You treat me as a friend and as Your child. Grow me and mold me until I am a child You are proud of, conformed to the image of Jesus. Lead me safely in joy to Your eternal Kingdom. May I not be concerned as to whether the road is rough or smooth, but only about seeing Your face ever more clearly until that day when I see it face to face.

Fragrance

Creator of all things, You have imbued creation with delightful surprises at every turn. Fragrance is an unexpected demonstration of Your beauty. Your inexpressible fullness is perhaps most clearly perceived in the delicate, riotous aroma of sweet, flowering trees and shrubs that envelop us in the spring. Emily Dickinson expressed this sensation when she said, “Inebriate of air am I.” Your Spirit endows our existence with this experience. When You were on earth as a man, Your life exuded it. May I be so infused by Your love that I exhibit the same ineffable splendor.