Morning Exercises#6
O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath. You alone keep covenant and show lovingkindness to your servants who walk before you with all their heart. I come into your presence this morning to spread out my hands towards heaven and cry out: Do not remember me, O LORD, and my righteousness. For all my righteousness is like a filthy rag before you and my sins are a nauseating stench.
But remember Your Son, our Savior. Remember His obedience. Remember how He kept all your commandments perfectly. Remember how he walked before you with a whole heart all His days. And remember the moment you cursed Him and abandoned Him to the darkness instead of me. He was delivered over because of my transgressions, and He was raised for my justification.
Remember Him and pardon me, O God. Forgive my foolish pride. I think too much of myself and too little of others. I have lived as if nature was the whole show, and I have forgotten where my true home really is. I have walked as an enemy of the cross of Christ, my appetite has been my god, I have gloried in my shame, and set my mind on earthly things. I have lived as if I was on the way to destruction.
Help me to remember this day that, my citizenship is in heaven. Help me to eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: When He comes He will subject all things to Himself, and transform my body, this lowly, body of dust, and He will fill it with His glory. For when Christ who is my life appears, then I shall be like Him, for I shall see Him as He is.
I come this morning to put aside all malice, all deceit, and hypocrisy. And, by your grace, I will not envy others or slander them. But like a newborn baby, help me to long for the pure milk of your Word, so that by it I might grow in the knowledge of God and the experience of your saving power. Grant me, Father, to taste of the Kindness of Your dear Son. Reveal Him to me in truth this day.
I thank you, Father, that you have granted me all that I need for life and godliness. And you have called me to your own glory and excellence. So unleash your great power and help me to escape the corrupting lusts of this world.
Help me, Father, to be diligent to grow in faith. For without faith it is impossible to please you. For he that comes to you must believe that you are and that you reward those who diligently seek you.
Teach me to be pure in heart and to grow in the knowledge of Christ.
Strengthen my capacity for self-control. Help me to control my emotions, desires, and thoughts. Too often they dominate me, help me to take them all captive to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Help me also to persevere through trials, temptation, and hardship. Teach me how to be godly, full of brotherly kindness and love. For you have said, O God, that if these qualities are mine and are increasing, I will neither be useless nor fruitless in the true knowledge of the Lord Jesus. And I know, when I lack these qualities, I live like a blind, short-sighted man. I forget the gospel and the glory yet to be revealed.
So help me God to be all the more diligent to make my calling and election sure. Give your angels charge over me, to guard me in all my ways, lest I stumble and fall from grace. Help me to live this day the way I will wish I had lived when I come to die. And most of all, Father, whether I eat or drink, or whatever I do, help to do it all for your glory.
Insert your own prayers here:
Pray for your family and friends.
What burdens are your carrying? Cast them all on the Lord, and remember His promise, “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22).
Where are you tempted to worry and anxiety, Remember His word: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7).
Pray for your Church that she will be faithful to the Great Commission: “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)
Pray for our President and his advisors: May God give them great wisdom to respond shrewdly to the decisions of the day.
Pray for the doctors and medical staff battling to contain the Coronavirus. May God protect them and help them treat their patients effectively.