Thursday, Week 7

Give us this day our daily bread.
— Matthew 6:11 (BSB)

Prayer is our lifeline to God.
— Billy Graham

O God, who has taught us in Your holy word to cast our burdens upon You, promising that we shall be sustained — we come to You this evening with our burdens. You have given them to us; they are Your gifts. We know, therefore, that there must be a blessing wrapped up in every one of them, something good sent from You to us. Help us to accept our burdens, and to get Your gifts from them. Let us not repine nor murmur under them, and thus miss the blessing that You have sent to us.

You have not promised to take our burdens away from us, for this would be depriving us of blessings which You have specially prepared for us in Your love. But You have promised to sustain us, to give us strength to bear the burden. Our prayer, then, is that You would give us grace to accept whatever burdens You have laid upon us, to take up whatever crosses You put upon our shoulders, and to bear them after our Savior, with quiet trust.

We bring You at the close of the day, our sincere gratitude and praise for Your goodness.

Your love never wearies,
Your patience is never exhausted,
Your grace never fails.

We grieve You by our many sins and by our unbelief and murmuring. Have mercy upon us, and forgive us, for Jesus' sake.

Let us have an evening blessing from Your hand. Give us Your peace; strengthen us with Your might, that we may be ready for any duty, any struggle. Beat down Satan under our feet. You have overcome the world, O Jesus, and because of Your victoriousness, You are able to be our defense and our refuge. So we hide in You, as in the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Bless us for Your own name's sake. Amen.