Prayer for Hope as a Child of God

How gracious and kind and merciful art Thou, O eternal and glorious God! Thou didst not only give to man great glory at his creation, but after the fall into sin Thou didst again promise great glory to all those who accept Thy grace, and who in faith and holy living obey the promptings of Thy Holy Spirit. Such regenerated and sanctified souls may comfort themselves with the reflection, that in this world already they are greatly blessed. They possess divine sonship, the righteousness of Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and peace with Thee. They enjoy Thy favor, grace, and love, and the confidence that they may come to Thee in prayer at all times and receive from Thee help and mercy in every time of need.

But a still greater blessedness shall be theirs hereafter. For when their soul has departed from the body, it shall at once be admitted to the vision of Thy countenance, be numbered among Thy saints, and be filled with heavenly joys. To this blessedness the body also shall be admitted after the resurrection. It shall be transformed and shine like the sun. O my God! grant me grace to keep this future glory constantly in mind, and to remember, that in dying I, in reality, only begin to live; that in death my misery but not my life shall find its end in Thee; and that I shall then pass from unrest to rest, from sorrow to joy, from anxiety to happiness, from the sadness of this vale of tears to the comfort of heaven.

O keep me in faith and piety. And when the world seeks to lead me astray, let me remember that I am Thy child, and that I look for eternal glory and happiness at Thy hands; so that I may never love the world and thus forfeit the glory of heaven. Grant that, even as the racers who ran in the course were intent upon pressing onward to reach the goal; so I may be careful in my course, and may walk not as unwise but as wise, and at the end of my life may be able to say: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Amen.