God, grant this little springtime prayer
And make our hearts, grown cold with care,
Once more aware of the waking earth
Now pregnant with life and bursting with birth.
For how can man feel any fear or doubt
When on every side all around and about
The March winds blow across man’s face
And whisper of God’s power and grace?
Oh, give us faith to believe again
That peace on earth, goodwill to men
Will follow this winter of man’s mind
And awaken his heart and make him kind.
And just as great nature sends the spring
To give new birth to each sleeping thing,
God, grant rebirth to man’s slumbering soul
And help him forsake his selfish goal.
Take me and break me and make me, dear God,
just what You want me to be.
Give me the strength to accept what You send
and eyes with the vision to see
All the small, arrogant ways that I have
and the vain little things that I do.
Make me aware that I’m often concerned
more with myself than with You.
Uncover before me my weakness and greed
and help me to search deep inside
So I may discover how easy it is
to be selfishly lost in my pride.
And then in Thy goodness and mercy,
look down on this weak, erring one
And tell me that I am forgiven
for all I’ve so willfully done,
And teach me to humbly start following
the path that the dear Savior trod
So I’ll find at the end of life’s journey
a home in the city of God.
To try to run away from life
is impossible to do,
For no matter where you chance to go,
your troubles will follow you;
For though the scenery is different,
when you look deep inside you’ll find
The same deep, restless longings
that you thought you left behind.
So when life becomes a problem
much too great for us to bear,
Instead of trying to escape,
let us withdraw in prayer.
For withdrawal means renewal
if we withdraw to pray
And listen in the quietness
to hear what God will say.
God, teach me to be patient, teach me to go slow.
Teach me how to wait on You
when my way I do not know.
Teach me sweet forbearance,
when things do not go right,
So I remain unruffled when others grow uptight.
Teach me how to quiet my racing, rising heart,
So I might hear the answer You are trying to impart.
Teach me to let go, dear God,
and pray undisturbed until
My heart is filled with inner peace
and I learn to know Your will.
I remember so well this prayer I said
Each night as my mother tucked me in bed,
And today this same prayer is still the best way
To sign off with God at the end of the day
And to ask Him your soul to safely keep
As you wearily close your tired eyes in sleep,
Feeling content that the Father above
Will hold you secure in His great arms of love.
And having His promise, that if ere you wake
His angels reach down, your sweet soul to take,
Is perfect assurance that, awake or asleep,
God is always right there to tenderly keep
All of His children ever safe in His care,
For God’s here and He’s there and He’s everywhere.
So into His hands each night as I sleep
I commend my soul for the dear Lord to keep,
Knowing that if my soul should take flight
It will soar to the land where there is no night.
My garden beautifies my yard
and adds fragrance to the air,
But it is also my cathedral
and my quiet place of prayer.
So little do we realize
that the glory and the power
Of Him who made the universe
lies hidden in a flower!
I come to meet You, God, and as I linger here
I seem to feel You very near.
A rustling leaf, a rolling slope
Speak to my heart of endless hope.
The sun just rising in the sky,
The waking birdlings as they fly,
The grass all wet with morning dew
Are telling me I just met You.
And gently thus the day is born
As night gives way to breaking morn,
And once again I’ve met You, God,
And worshipped on Your holy sod.
For who could see the dawn break through
Without a glimpse of heaven and You?
For who but God could make the day
And softly put the night away?
God, open my eyes so I may see
And feel Your presence close to me.
Give me strength for my stumbling feet
As I battle the crowd on life’s busy street,
And widen the vision of my unseeing eyes
So in passing faces I’ll recognize
Not just a stranger, unloved and unknown,
But a friend with a heart that is much like my own.
Give me perception to make me aware
That scattered profusely on life’s thoroughfare
Are the best gifts of God that we daily pass by
As we look at the world with an unseeing eye.
Don’t start your day by supposin’
that trouble is just ahead.
It’s better to stop supposin’
and start with a prayer instead.
And make it a prayer of thanksgiving
for the wonderful things God has wrought,
Like the beautiful sunrise and sunset—
God’s gifts that are free and not bought.
For what is the use of supposin’
that dire things could happen to you,
Worrying about some misfortune
that seldom if ever comes true.
But instead of just idle supposin’,
step forward to meet each new day
Secure in the knowledge God’s near you
to lead you each step of the way.
For supposin’ the worst things will happen
only helps to make them come true,
And you darken the bright, happy moments
that the dear Lord has given to you.
So if you desire to be happy
and get rid of the misery of dread,
Just give up supposin’ the worst things
and look for the best things instead.
Make me a channel of blessing today,
I ask again and again when I pray.
Do I turn a deaf ear to the Master’s voice
or refuse to hear His direction and choice?
I only know at the end of the day
that I did so little to pay my way.
I come not to ask, to plead, or implore You;
I just come to tell You how much I adore You.
For to kneel in Your presence makes me feel blessed,
For I know that You know all my needs best.
And it fills me with joy just to linger with You,
As my soul You replenish and my heart You renew.
For prayer is much more than just asking for things;
It’s the peace and contentment that quietness brings.
So thank You again for Your mercy and love
And for making me heir to Your kingdom above.
Show me the way, not to fortune and fame,
Not how to win laurels or praise for my name,
But show me the way to spread the great story
That Thine is the kingdom and power and glory.
The stairway rises heaven-high, the steps are dark and steep.
In weariness we climb them as we stumble, fall, and weep.
And many times we falter along the path of prayer,
Wondering if You hear us and if You really care.
Oh, give us some assurance; restore our faith anew,
So we can keep on climbing the stairs of prayer to You.
For we are weak and wavering, uncertain and unsure,
And only meeting You in prayer can help us to endure
All life’s trials and troubles, its sickness, pain, and sorrow,
And give us strength and courage
to face and meet tomorrow.
God, be my resting place and my protection
In hours of trouble, defeat, and dejection.
May I never give away to self-pity and sorrow,
May I always be sure of a better tomorrow,
May I stand undaunted come what may,
Secure in the knowledge I have only to pray
And ask my Creator and Father above
To keep me serene in His grace and His love.
When we are deeply disturbed by a problem
and our minds are filled with doubt,
And we struggle to find a solution,
but there seems to be no way out,
We futilely keep on trying
to untangle our web of distress,
But our own little, puny efforts
meet with very little success.
And finally, exhausted and weary,
discouraged and downcast and low,
With no foreseeable answer
and with no other place to go,
We kneel down in sheer desperation
And slowly and stumblingly pray,
Then impatiently wait for an answer
which we fully expect right away….
But God can’t get through to the anxious,
who are much too impatient to wait,
You have to believe in God’s promise
that He comes not too soon or too late….
So be not impatient or hasty,
just trust in the Lord and believe,
For whatever you ask in faith and love,
in abundance you are sure to receive.