Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Give Me a Heart . . . for Thee
The Oxford Book of Prayer contains within its covers an embarrassment of riches in words. From just the few dozen pages I have read so far, I can tell how amazing, how profound and moving are the prayers, the sentiments expressed. And, the people chosen and represented.
For today, I have chosen just a portion of a prayer. A snippet, so to speak, of a prayer by Dag Hammerskjold. The prayer concerns “Thy Will Be Done” (Prayer 248, page 85) [1] The prayer is about Dedication.
“Give me a pure heart—that I may see Thee./A humble heart—that I may hear Thee,/A heart of love—that I may serve Thee,/A heart of faith—that I may abide in Thee.”
Oh, Lord! What lofty sentiments. How can I even think to see You, since my heart is blackened and marred by sin? Yet, as I journey with You, by Your side, I hope to see You more and more clearly.
Humble? Humility? (Yes, I know the book that some would like to write: “Humility, and How I Attained It.” Well, that is not me.) But, I dearly want to draw nearer to You, Lord. I want to be closer to You. That way, I’ll be able to hear Your words.
“A heart of love.” Ah, love! I yearn to be loved. I want to be loved. Yet, my low self-esteem keeps dogging my heels. Thank God, the love You’ve given to me overflows into my inner self, that deep, inner person, deep within.
Faith! And, abiding? Oh, to have more faith! I am reminded of the man from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 9, who said, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!” Dear Lord Jesus, help me to have more faith. Then, perhaps, I will grope my way towards abiding with You.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear my fervent prayers.
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[1] The Oxford Book of Prayer, edited by George Appleton. (New York: Oxford University Press, reissued 2009), 85.
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