One of the last prayers in the book I thought was exceptionally good. So I'm going to share it here.
(James 2:1-13)
"Almighty God, we are privileged to call You our Father. You loved us and saved us and adopted us into Your own family.
You have therefore call us as believers to love one another with pure hearts fervently.
That includes not showing partiality, which is one important way of fulfilling the royal law of loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Help us about in love, and keep us from making ungodly distinctions between one another.
May our actions toward one another reflect the perfect love with which You first loved us.
We take to heart how Christ taught us to pray, yearning for Your name to be hallowed, Your kingdom to come, and Your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Those are the true desires of our hearts; forgive us for being so preoccupied with lesser things.
And yet You also invite us to ask You for our temporal needs - our daily bread and other needs, all of which You richly supply.
Always You answer with surprisingly more abundance than we have faith to ask or think.
We drink our fill of that abundance; and You keep it flowing like a river.
How thankful we are for the written Word - that razor-sharp two-edged sword, which is able to discern our thoughts and intentions even more accurately than we can know our own hearts.
The Word cleanses and sanctifies us.
It gives understanding to our minds, wisdom to our thoughts, and light to our path.
It is perfect, utterly transfiguring our inmost beings.
May our lives - like the apostles' - be so evidently transformed by Your truth that people will take note that we have been with Jesus.
You, our great Redeemer, have led us out of the desert of sin into a flourishing place of righteousness.
Lead us into a still-wider garden of holiness so that we can fully enjoy all the hopes, comforts, and responsibilities of our salvation.
In that garden Your inspired Word is the seed that will bring forth good fruit according to its kind.
May Your Spirit enlighten our minds so we understand and obey Your Word.
May His light shine through us to needy people throughout the world so that they might recognize and submit to Your divine power.
No matter how great or how humble our labors, help us do them well as a blessing to You and others.
These things we ask, Father, in the name of Christ Your Son.
To You be all glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
(bold emphasis mine)
You have therefore call us as believers to love one another with pure hearts fervently.
That includes not showing partiality, which is one important way of fulfilling the royal law of loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Help us about in love, and keep us from making ungodly distinctions between one another.
May our actions toward one another reflect the perfect love with which You first loved us.
We take to heart how Christ taught us to pray, yearning for Your name to be hallowed, Your kingdom to come, and Your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Those are the true desires of our hearts; forgive us for being so preoccupied with lesser things.
And yet You also invite us to ask You for our temporal needs - our daily bread and other needs, all of which You richly supply.
Always You answer with surprisingly more abundance than we have faith to ask or think.
We drink our fill of that abundance; and You keep it flowing like a river.
For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.
May
we never forget how dependent we are on Your generous bounty; give us
truly grateful hearts, and fill our mouths with praise.How thankful we are for the written Word - that razor-sharp two-edged sword, which is able to discern our thoughts and intentions even more accurately than we can know our own hearts.
The Word cleanses and sanctifies us.
It gives understanding to our minds, wisdom to our thoughts, and light to our path.
It is perfect, utterly transfiguring our inmost beings.
May our lives - like the apostles' - be so evidently transformed by Your truth that people will take note that we have been with Jesus.
You, our great Redeemer, have led us out of the desert of sin into a flourishing place of righteousness.
Lead us into a still-wider garden of holiness so that we can fully enjoy all the hopes, comforts, and responsibilities of our salvation.
In that garden Your inspired Word is the seed that will bring forth good fruit according to its kind.
May Your Spirit enlighten our minds so we understand and obey Your Word.
May His light shine through us to needy people throughout the world so that they might recognize and submit to Your divine power.
No matter how great or how humble our labors, help us do them well as a blessing to You and others.
These things we ask, Father, in the name of Christ Your Son.
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