A Morning of Love and Patience

ETERNAL God, rise with Thy morning upon our souls, and call us to consecrate another day to Thy service. We thank Thee for rest and sleep, and for Thy watchful care throughout the hours of darkness. Thou hast been as a wall of fire about our home, and Thyself the glory in the midst. Thou dost care for each one of us, as if Thou didst care for him only, and for all as if they were but one. We would commit our ways to Thee afresh. Sustain us amid all our work, and solve the problems of our life that are too hard for us. May we be strong in the faith that all things work together for good to them that love Thee. O God, our allotted time is as the passing of a shadow. Our life vanishes away even as a mist is scattered before the burning beams of the sun. Without Thee we cannot live and dare not die. Draw us into fellowship with Thy mind and will, that, renouncing the vain things which in times past have charmed, we may yield ourselves unreservedly to Thee, that Thou mayst use us to advance Thy cause and Kingdom in the world. Send forth Thy Spirit into our hearts to quicken us with fresh zeal and devout aspiration, to rouse us to renewed struggle against the evil that is within and without us. We rejoice in the message which Jesus Christ, Thy Son, has brought us, which tells us of Thy self-sacrifice, in surrendering Him to death that we might win the blessedness for which we were created. When in the misery and confusion of our guilt we shrink before the look of Thy holiness, it is His voice that speaks the word which comforts, "I will not pray the Father for you, for the Father himself loveth you." When conscious of our unfaithfulness to higher aims, and yet craving the freedom of a larger life, it is His Spirit that streams into our hearts, to clear our inward vision, and to set us in the power of Thy redemption. Let Jesus Christ be born anew in our hearts, and then we will be drawn to Thee with the cords of a man, with the bands of love, and henceforth we will run in the way of Thy commandments, counting none of them grievous.

We pray for those who love us, and for those who, it may be, dislike us. Take from us any evil thing that hinders the flow of love from soul to soul. Pour upon us the spirit of brotherhood, in the strength of which we may bear each other's burdens, and cover with a mantle of charity our brother's weakness. If any are estranged from us, do Thou pluck out of their hearts and ours any root of bitterness, and unite us again in the bonds of mutual affection. If any are irritable, or weak, or nervous, give us a spirit of unwearied forbearance, that we may be to them a source of strength and poise and self-control. As we go among our fellows, may we ever manifest a patient temper, a kind and happy spirit, a love that beareth all things, endureth all things, believeth all things. These blessings we ask in the name of Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord. Amen.