"O Lord, in the morning I will direct my prayer to You."
"Everyone born of God overcomes the world."—1 John 5:4
O eternal, everlasting God, You are glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises, continually doing wonders. Heaven and earth are full of
the majesty of Your glory. You, the almighty keeper of Israel, never slumber.
There is not the moment I am away from your wakeful vigilance. In the
defenseless hours of sleep, as well as amid life's activities and toils, You
are ever the same—"compassing my path and my lying down, and intimately
acquainted with all my ways."
I rejoice to think that I have the assurance of such
unwearying watchfulness and care, in a world "lying in wickedness." Blessed
Jesus, in the world You have forewarned me to expect tribulation, but,
nevertheless, I will "be of good cheer, for you have overcome the world." You
have traversed its wilderness-depths—You have passed through the shadow of its
darkest valley. I cannot dread what You have trodden and conquered.
But, alas! I have to mourn that the world which crucified
You should be so much loved by me—that its pleasures should be so
fascinating—its pursuits so engrossing. Wean me from it. Break its alluring
spell. Strip it of its counterfeit charms. Discover to me, its hollowness—the
treachery of its promises—the precariousness of its best blessings—the
fleeting nature of its most enduring friendship. I take comfort in the
thought, "The Lord God is a sun and shield." The world has deceived me, but
You never have. Guide me by Your counsel. Savior-God, let me come up from the
wilderness leaning on Your arm, exulting, amid its legion-foes, that greater
is He who is with me than all those who can be against me.
O You who, in Your last prayer on earth, did so touchingly
say of Your pilgrim people, "These are in the world;" still bend Your pitying
eye upon me, as I travel, burdened with sin and sorrow, through the valley of
tears. So "sanctify me through Your truth," that, though in the world,
I may not be of it—not conformed to its sinful practices and lying
vanities. Bring me to say, with regard to all in it that was once so
fascinating, "My soul is even as a weaned child." With my face Zionward, may I
declare plainly that I seek "a better country."
Grant that this day, in all my worldly communion, I may
have the realizing sense of Your presence and nearness. May I set a watch on
my heart, and keep the door of my lips. May cherished feelings of love and
devotion to You be intermingled with all life's duties and engagements. May I
know that a simple faith in Jesus is the great secret of victory over the
world. Oh, may the trembling magnet of my vacillating affections be ever
pointing to Him, and then I shall be made "more than conqueror."
Through His all-prevailing merits and advocacy, hear my
prayer. In His most precious blood, forgive all my sins. By His indwelling
grace, sanctify my nature, that my whole body, soul, and spirit may be
preserved blameless until His coming. Amen.
"Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for
in You do I trust."