Dark and cheerless is the morn
Unaccompanied by Thee;
Joyless is the day’s return
Till Thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till they inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine,
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiancy divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more Thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.

- Charles Wesley

Be merciful to us,
Your humble and sinful and unworthy servants.
For we have sinned and transgressed,
and we are not worthy to lift up our eyes and look at the height of heaven,
since we have forsaken the path of Your righteousness
and have walked according to the desires of our own hearts.

But we appeal to Your boundless goodness,
spare us, O Lord, according to the abundance of Your mercy,
and save us for the sake of Your holy name.
Pluck us from the hand of the adversary,
forgive us our sins,
and kill our fleshly lusts,
that putting off the old man, we may put on the new,
and may live for You, our Master and Protector.

For You, O Christ our God, are the true joy and gladness of those who love You
and unto You we ascribe glory, together with Your Father who is without beginning,
and Your most holy, good and life-giving Spirit,
now and forever. Amen.

- adapted from Basil the Great, A. \D. 330-379

With a touch You healed the leper,
With a shout You raised the dead;
With a word expelled the demons,
With a blessing broke the bread.

Love incarnate, love divine,
Captivate this heart of mine
Till all I do speaks of You.

As a sheep before the shearer
You were silent in Your pain;
You endured humiliation
At the hands of those You’d made.
And as hell unleashed its fury
You were lifted on a tree,
Crying ‘Father God, forgive them,
Place their punishment on Me.’

Love incarnate, love divine,
Captivate this heart of mine
Till all I do speaks of You.

I will feed the poor and hungry,
I will stand up for the truth;
I will take my cross and follow
To the corners of the earth.
And I ask that You so fill me
With Your peace, Your power, Your breath,
That I never love my life so much
To shrink from facing death.

Love incarnate, love divine,
Captivate this heart of mine
Till all I do speaks of You.

- Stuart Townend - With A Prayer (Love Incarnate)

Lord God Almighty,
I understand that I am unable to do anything without your help,
so I ask you to enable me by your grace to fulfill your will.

Give me grace to do whatever brings most glory and honor to you,
pleasure and profit to me,
and life and love to others.

Help me to number my days,
spending my time wisely,
living my life with all my might while I still have breath.

Humble me in the knowledge that I am chief of sinners;
when I hear of the sins of others,
help me to not look upon them with pride,
but to look upon myself with shame,
confessing my own sins to you.

When I go through difficulties and trials,
remind me of the pains of hell
from which you have already delivered me.

Place people in my path who need my help,
and give me a compassionate and generous spirit.

Fill my heart with such love
that I would never do anything out of a spirit of revenge,
nor lose my temper with those around me.
Hold my tongue when I am tempted to speak evil of others.

Thank you for the gospel and for the hope of glory.
Help me to live in light of these truths every day of my life,
so that when the time of my death arrives,
I will rest assuredly in you,
and you will be most glorified in me.

In Christ’s name…

- Trevin Wax (adapted from the first 21 of Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions), first posted on January 3, 2010

Lord, you exalt the humble.
You use the yielded.
Help me not to feel that I am worthy or deserving of you.
Help me not to think that I can do anything major with minor trust.
Help me to say “yes” to your every proposition
so I can sing with Mary,
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.”

- Calvin Miller, The Christ of Christmas: Readings for Advent

O Everlasting Light,
Shine graciously within;
Brightest of all on earth that’s bright,
Come, shine away my sin.

O Everlasting Truth,
Truest of all that’s true,
Sure Guide of erring age and youth,
Lead me, and teach me, too.

O Everlasting Strength,
Uphold me in the way;
Bring me, in spite of foes, at length
To joy and light and day.

O Everlasting Love,
Wellspring of grace and peace,
Pour down Thy fullness from above,
Bid doubt and trouble cease.

O Everlasting Rest,
Lift off life’s load of care;
Relieve, revive this burdened breast,
And every sorrow bear.

Thou art in Heav’n our All,
Our All on earth art Thou;
Upon Thy glorious Name we call,
Lord Jesus, bless us now.

- Horatius Bonar, 1858

Father in heaven,
our hearts desire the warmth of your love
and our minds are searching for the light of your Word.

Increase our longing for Christ our Savior
and give us the strength to grow in love,
that the dawn of his coming
may find us rejoicing in his presence
and welcoming the light of his truth.

We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

May you rejoice in your deliverance from a cruel death, a deluded slavery; from a bleak and desperate wandering.

May you be at peace in your Father’s house.

And may you who’ve been chosen by Sovereign Love, choose to lay your lives down that others may live.

May you take up the weapons of deliverance, the prayerful instruments of justice and mercy.

May you live out and proclaim the reign of the King.

May you humbly submit to the rule of your faithful Father and follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

May His grace so fill you that you overflow with the confident hope and joy His terrible and glorious death won for you.

And welcome all who hunger and thirst; who, willing to lose, will gain, who, willing to die, will truly live.

- Timothy Stoner,  The God Who Smokes: Scandalous Meditations on Faith

May you be captivated by the focused heat and glow of your Bridegroom’s jealous passion.

May you recline at peace and with veiled face bow.

May you be thrilled and terrified at the rampaging, irresistible zeal of this consuming fire who has pledged Himself to do you good all the days of your life and who will not hold back even if the good seems bad, and stings and burns and blisters your skin.

May your heart thrill at the awesome God who held nothing back that He might hold you close, who poured on His Son what He never deserved that you might receive forever what you would not have desired, but were created for.

Then may your own heart become an altar aflame with fiery love and exclusive zeal to bring Him glory and expand His praise among all peoples and nations—among your friends and enemies too.

- Timothy Stoner,  The God Who Smokes: Scandalous Meditations on Faith

Strengthen me by Your Spirit in my inner self
for every purpose of my Christian life.

All my jewels I give to the shadow of the safety that is in You
- my name anew in Christ,
my body, soul, talents, character,
my success, wife, children, friends, work,
my present, my future, my end.
Take them, they are Yours, and I am Yours, now and for ever.

- Puritan prayer, adapted