Morning Prayer

ALMIGHTY GOD, Who art ever present in
the world without me, in my spirit within me,
and in the unseen world above me, let me car-
ry with me through this day's life a most real
sense of Thy power and Thy glory.

O God without me, forbid that I should look
today upon the work of Thy hands and give
no thought to Thee the Maker. Let the heav-
ens declare Thy glory to me and the hills Thy
majesty. Let every fleeting loveliness I see
speak to me of a loveliness that does not fade.
Let the beauty of earth be to me a sacrament
of the beauty of holiness made manifest in
Jesus Christ my Lord.

O God within me, give me grace today to
recognize the stirrings of Thy Spirit within
my soul and to listen most attentively to all
that Thou hast to say to me. Let not the noises
of the world ever so confuse me that I cannot
hear Thee speak. . .

O God above me, God Who dwellest in light
unapproachable, teach me, I beseech Thee,
that even my highest thoughts of Thee are but
dim and distant shadowings of Thy transcend-
ent glory. Teach me that if Thou art in nature,
still more art Thou greater than nature. Teach
me that if Thou art in my heart, still more art
Thou greater than my heart. Let my soul re-
joice in Thy mysterious greatness. Let me take
refuge in the thought that Thou art utterly be-
yond me, beyond the sweep of my imagination,
beyond the comprehension of my mind; Thy
judgments being unsearchable and Thy ways
past finding out.

O Lord, hallowed be Thy name. Amen

                       ~ A Diary of Private Prayer
                          John Baillie, D.D., D.Litt.