Friday, Week 8

But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
— Luke 6:27-28 (BSB)

You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed. Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan.
— John Bunyan

O God, You are our Rock, our Fortress, our Deliverer, the horn of our salvation and our Redeemer. You are a tried Savior, and we know we can trust in You. We have put our confidence in You in the past, and You have never once failed us.

We render You hearty thanks this morning, for all the blessings of the night. We thank You most of all for the revelation of Yourself to us in Jesus Christ our Savior, in whom we see the express image of Your person. We thank You that in Him we have learned of Your fatherhood and of Your grace and mercy. May the Holy Spirit teach us more and more of the blessedness and preciousness of this divine revealing — opening our eyes to see it, and our hearts to receive it.

We beseech You, O God, to draw us near to You this morning, and to hold us close to You all the day. We would run the race that is set before us without faltering. May we be enabled to lay aside every weight that would hinder us, and every sin that would easily beset us, and looking to Jesus as the goal — run with patience and alertness. We desire to live as Christians should live. Let us not be drawn away by the world's fascinations.

Help us to do our daily business righteously. Teach us how to do the commonest duties for the sake of Jesus, for the eye of Jesus. Help us to be honest and truthful . . .
in our business,
in our social life,
in our conversation,
in all our life.

May the fruits of the Spirit abound in our lives. May we abound also in good works. Send us all the help we need for the day's demands. Bless our beloved ones, whatever their circumstances, and all for whom our prayers should be made to You. We ask all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.