Today I pray

Dear God, On this day I pray for clarity in putting aside those things which keep me from being in full relationship with you. Allow me to discover those things which cause me frustration and the courage to meet them head-on.

Help me to measure my happiness and self-worth not by the material things but by the blessing and gifts which come from you. In return help me to reflect your love in my interactions with others.

Allow me a giving heart and give me peace in knowing all things of true value come from you. All of this I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen

Og's Prayer

This is one of my favorite prayers from the book "The Greatest Salesman in The World, Vol II" by Og Mandino,

My special friend, thank you for listening to me. You know how hard I am trying to fulfill your faith in me.

Thank You, also for the place in which I dwell. Let neither work nor play, no matter how satisfying or glorious; ever separate me for long from my precious family.

Teach me how to play the game of life with fairness, courage, fortitude and confidence.

Provide me with a few friends who understand me and yet remain my friends.

Allow me a forgiving heart and a mind unafraid to travel though the trail may not be marked.

Give me a sense of humor and a little leisure with nothing to do.

Help me to strive for the highest legitimate reward of merit, ambition and opportunity, and yet never allow me to forget to extend a kindly, helping hand to others who need encouragement and assistance.

Provide me with the strength to encounter whatever is to come, that I be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in anger and always prepared for any change of fortune.

Enable me to give a smile instead of a frown, a kindly word instead of harshness and bitterness.

Make me sympathetic to the grief of others, realizing that there are hidden woes in every life, no matter how exalted.

Keep me forever serene in every activity of life, neither unduly boastful nor given to the more serious sin of self-depreciation.

In sorrow, may my soul be uplifted, by the thought that if there were no shadow there would be no sunshine.

In failure, preserve my faith. In success, keep me humble.

Steady me to do the full share of my work, and more, as well as I can, and when that is done, stop me, pay me what wages Thou wilt, and permit me to say, from a loving heart...

A grateful Amen -Og Mandino

Today I pray

The journey has begun. Heavenly Father, I pray that in the next forty days you will transform my heart and mind to be more focused on your call and purpose for me.

In this time of Lent I wish to become more fully engaged in your call for me and to put the things which have held me to my past behind me. Allow me to look forward with positive expectancy of the future you have planned for me.

Allow me to be a reflection of you to all I encounter and keep me humble. Yet at the same time make me a bold messenger of Jesus and his ultimate sacrifice. Allow me to share with those who have lost their way or have never known you the amazing message of hope and new life which comes from being in relationship with you.

I pray all of these things in the name of the risen Christ. Amen

Today I pray

Dear God, On this day we begin a period of seeking and introspection. I pray that during Lent I may seek a deeper relationship with you.

May I also use this time to boldly proclaim Christ and his precious gift to all of us to all I encounter. Allow me to share the Easter story with those who I encounter who may not know you. May I strive to be an example of your love and a reflection of your grace each day.

All of these things I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen