My thoughts are going 90 to nothing this morning so I opened up one of my prayer books to meditate on other people’s prayers. I will often turn to Valley of Vision and meditate on some Puritan prayers, but today, I opened another prayer book.
I came upon a prayer from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He wrote the following prayer while awaiting execution in a Nazi prison. Bonhoeffer’s life is worth investigating if you like a good biography, but know that he wrote this prayer not knowing if he would be released or executed. In the end, he was put to death not long before WWII ended. Here is his prayer.
O God, early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on you:
I cannot do this alone.
In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways,
But you know the way for me…
Restore me to liberty,
And enable me so to live now
That I may answer before you and before me.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.
Wherever we are today and whatever our state, we must realize and believe that God hears our prayers. He knows that we are feeble and weak. He knows we are made of dust. He knows that our days are numbered here on this earth.
What does God want from us? What does He demand? He asks us to believe. He asks us to trust that He is good, right and perfect and that His ways are always best. He asks us to cast our anxieties upon Him because He cares for us.
So where do you start? Begin with honesty. I have often prayed, “Lord, I don’t desire You right now. But I do desire to desire You. Please help me!” This might be the place you start today.
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