National Day of Prayer & Prayer by John Baillie

“To be a Christian without praying is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” 

–Martin Luther

Today (May 3rd) is National Day of Prayer here in the United States. I’ve been a Christian since I was a little girl, yet I still find myself learning how to pray. To me, prayer is just a conversation between me and God, or me and friends and God. It’s a chance to invite God into my life daily. 

Last weekend I visited my sweet aunt and uncle, Nancy and Joe. We shared laughs and stories, and it was the most fun time being together! They gifted me with a little daily devotional by John Baillie called “A Diary of Private Prayer.” 

John has a prayer for the morning and evening for each day of the month. It’s original copyright is 1949, so there is a sense of nostalgia for this era of English composition. Since today is the 3rd day of the month, here is the evening prayer from John’s book, “A Diary of Private Prayer:”

 "O Thou most wise, most great, most holy, in wisdom
 and power and tender mercy 
Thou didst create me in Thine own image. 
Thou hast given me this life to live,
Thou has appointed my lot and determined the bounds of my habitation,
Thou hast surrounded me with gracious and beneficent influences,
Thou hast written Thy law within my heart.

And my heart's most secret chamber Thou art now waiting 
to meet and speak with me,
freely offering me Thy fellowship in spite of all my sinning. 
Let me now avail myself 
of this open road to peace of mind.
Let me approach Thy presence humbly and reverently.
Let me carry with me the spirit of my Lord and Master Jesus Christ 
Let me leave behind me all fretfulness, 
all unworthy desires,
all thoughts of malice towards my fellow men,
all hesitancy in surrendering my will to Thine.

   In Thy will, O Lord, is my peace. 
   And Thy love is my rest.
   In Thy service is my joy.
   Thou art all my heart's desire
   Whom have I in heaven but Thee? 
   And there is none upon the Earth that I desire besides Thee. 

In Thy presence, O God, I think not of only myself, 
but of others, my fellow men:
   of my friends, especially of...and of...:
   of those who to-day have worked or played with me: 
   of those who are in sorrow:
   of those who are bearing the burdens of others:
   of those who are manning difficult stations or lonely 
   outposts of Thy Kingdom:
    
O Thou who art the one God and Father of us all, be near to us all to-night
and graciously keep watch over our souls. 
Hear my prayer for Jesus' Christ's sake. Amen."

--John Baillie

I hope you enjoyed this beautiful prayer by John.  As always, if you ever have a prayer request please feel free to send one through my contact page. I’ll keep it between us and God. Thankful for you and thanks for reading! 🙂

Petit à Petit,