- Joined
- Feb 9, 2004
- Messages
- 17,081
A Prayer to an Ordinary God
"O thou pleasant, comfortable, kindly, good-natured God, with a reasonable degree of certainty, how glad I am that I can look forward to another ordinary day.
Keep me today from anything that may tax my faith. From discomfort, from unnecessary strain, from unusual problems, Especially those involving sickness or death, or the necessity of extending financial aid to relatives or friends, Dear Lord, deliver me.
Grant that nothing may occur which will disturb my satisfaction with the way I am, the things I say, The thoughts I think the acts I do, or the many deeds I leave undone.
Give me this day, in addition to my daily bread,
The butter, meats, and sweetmeats
That are my necessary diet.
And let me not be troubled by qualms of conscience.
Concerning the amount of time and money I spend on food and clothing; pastimes good and bad, And those pursuits which, while not of spiritual value, Are the accepted hall-mark of the normal citizen of this enlightened community in this enlightened age.
Should strong temptation come my way, help me above all else to be a gentleman who will not embarrass by word or deed those who are my companions at the moment of temptation.
Forgive me, in advance, if I embarrass Thee by failing to identify myself as one who seeks to honor Thee in all my ways. Let my conformity to this world's ways be limited, O God, to things which, while some may question them, will not, I pray, be positively sin.
About the future, And the darkening trend of things, keep me from thoughtfulness. Events rush on: the world travails: Can screaming headlines prove Thy hand's at work this very moment, bringing near that fateful cry, "Behold, He Comes?"
O, Lord, Such disconcerting thoughts! Keep me from worrying about such things, And guide me safely to and from my office, and my home. Amen."
---(Quoted by Ray C. Stedman)
"O thou pleasant, comfortable, kindly, good-natured God, with a reasonable degree of certainty, how glad I am that I can look forward to another ordinary day.
Keep me today from anything that may tax my faith. From discomfort, from unnecessary strain, from unusual problems, Especially those involving sickness or death, or the necessity of extending financial aid to relatives or friends, Dear Lord, deliver me.
Grant that nothing may occur which will disturb my satisfaction with the way I am, the things I say, The thoughts I think the acts I do, or the many deeds I leave undone.
Give me this day, in addition to my daily bread,
The butter, meats, and sweetmeats
That are my necessary diet.
And let me not be troubled by qualms of conscience.
Concerning the amount of time and money I spend on food and clothing; pastimes good and bad, And those pursuits which, while not of spiritual value, Are the accepted hall-mark of the normal citizen of this enlightened community in this enlightened age.
Should strong temptation come my way, help me above all else to be a gentleman who will not embarrass by word or deed those who are my companions at the moment of temptation.
Forgive me, in advance, if I embarrass Thee by failing to identify myself as one who seeks to honor Thee in all my ways. Let my conformity to this world's ways be limited, O God, to things which, while some may question them, will not, I pray, be positively sin.
About the future, And the darkening trend of things, keep me from thoughtfulness. Events rush on: the world travails: Can screaming headlines prove Thy hand's at work this very moment, bringing near that fateful cry, "Behold, He Comes?"
O, Lord, Such disconcerting thoughts! Keep me from worrying about such things, And guide me safely to and from my office, and my home. Amen."
---(Quoted by Ray C. Stedman)
