05.06. SIXTH WEEK

SIXTH WEEK

SUNDAY MORNING

O God, our Father, as we begin this Sunday, we look up to You for a blessing. As the earth opens its eyes on the sun, whose beams pour down in brightness upon field and forest — so do we open our eyes upon You this morning. May the gracious beams of Your love stream upon us. Then our hearts shall rejoice. If we have Your favor, we shall indeed live.

Fill us with Your Spirit, and may all our thoughts, feelings, and desires be sweetened. Sanctify to us all the privileges we shall enjoy today. May our rest be unbroken by any worldly incident which might mar its quietness. As we wait upon You, may we renew our strength. May Your word to which we shall listen, be richly blessed to us. May its teachings be made plain, and may we receive them into the soil of good and honest hearts, in which they may bring forth fruit.

Let a blessing be upon all those who today will minister in the churches, conducting the worship and preaching to the people. May they be in the Spirit, and may their words be filled with the Spirit. Make them holy men, having clean hands and pure hearts. Give them the right motives, as they minister in Your name.

Let a blessing be upon all the congregation that shall assemble today for worship. May all hearts be open to the influences of the Holy Spirit. Enter every open heart, and by Your loving persuasion, win the way into the hearts that thus far have been closed to You. So may Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We ask for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

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SUNDAY EVENING

O Jesus, our Lord and Master, we come to You at the quiet eventide. We remember how, when Your disciples were assembled together after the resurrection, the doors being shut, You appeared in their midst. You looked upon them in love and spoke the word of holy salutation, "Peace be unto you." Then You showed them Your hands bearing the nail-prints, and Your side with the spear-wound in it. Then You breathed on them and said unto them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

Again it is holy evening, O Jesus, and we are here, Your disciples, bowing at Your feet. Our lives are empty, needing a new filling of love from Your heart. Come into our midst and speak to us Your blessing of peace. Our minds are distracted by the things of this world. We are afraid of life’s vicissitudes, its disappointments, its burdens, its losses. We need Your sweet peace. You who spoke to the winds and the waves, saying, "Peace, be still" — speak to our hearts tonight and command peace in them. As you showed Your hands and side to Your disciples, thus proving to them that You were indeed risen from the dead — show us Your hands and side tonight. As we look at these wounds may we remember that You indeed died on the cross for our redemption. We remember also that You are risen from the dead, and are alive to be our Savior and Friend, our Intercessor in Heaven. As You breathed upon Your disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit — may You also breathe upon us as we bow at Your feet. We ask all in Your name. Amen.

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MONDAY MORNING

O God, we are thankful that we are Your children. We are not merely Your creatures. You have made the stars, the birds, and the flowers — but the stars, the birds, and the flowers are not Your children as we are. You have made us in Your own image. You have given us immortal souls. We thank You for the place we occupy in the scale of creation. May You help us to be worthy of our nobility, as the children of God, and live as Your children should live.

You have made us for a purpose. You have a plan for each of our lives — something You intend us to be and to do. We desire to fulfill Your purpose for us. Help us to accept Your will, and do what You would have us to do. Help us now, this morning, as we go out into the world, to go in the way You have marked out for us. We desire to serve our own generation. May You show us what You would have us to do — and enable us to do it.

Put Your love in our hearts, so that we shall feel toward the world as You do feel toward it. May we look upon sinners as You look upon them. May we have Your patience, Your compassion, Your spirit of helpfulness, Your pitying love. It seems little that we can do for our generation — the world is so large, and we are so small. Yet You have taught us that no true work done for You shall fail. Help us to make our little spot of the world holier, brighter, sweeter, happier. Help us to live out Your life in the place to which You have assigned us, serving those who are close about us. Thus we shall at least be a blessing to one small corner of Your great world.

Give us a profitable day, our Father — full of Your love and grace. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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MONDAY EVENING

We thank You, Father, for another day. One by one, You give the days to us. They are given to us to be used for You. They are not ours to waste and squander in idleness; much less are they ours to fill with selfishness, or to blacken and stain with sin. They are ours to employ in holy obedience, in loving service. The day comes to us as a white page on which to write words of beauty which others may read; and which will be read at last, when the books are opened in the final judgment. They come as ships which we are to fill with good things, to be borne away to bless others.

We bring You now another day. If we have written anything on the page which is not uplifting and beautiful — may You blot it out. If there are stains upon it — may You remove them. If we have given the day any messages for the judgment day which can only shame us then — may You expunge them.

If we have put selfishness into this day, instead of deeds of love for it to bear to others — we ask also for forgiveness. We cannot have it back again to correct, and so we ask You to change its evil into good, as You made the sin of Joseph’s brothers against him, to work out good in the end. As we turn from our day, never to see it again until we meet it in the judgment — we entrust it to You.

You are merciful and gracious. Bless our home tonight. You who slumber not, have us in Your holy keeping and let no evil come near unto us. Bless us as a family, and grant us Your peace. Prepare us for tomorrow, and when the day comes, grant to us Your presence and new grace for the new day. We ask all in the name of our Savior and Redeemer. Amen.

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TUESDAY MORNING

O Jesus, we thank You that You have lived this human life of ours, and know all about it. You, too, are man. You were tempted in all points like as we are — and know all about temptation. You are able to sympathize with us, when we are struggling with the tempter. It is a comfort for us, to know that You understand all about our conflicts — and that we can cast ourselves upon Your sympathy. Help us today, O Jesus, to overcome in every temptation. Stand by us. Let us not sink away into the darkness of eternal death, in any hour of temptation.

We are glad, too, that You know all about sorrow. You have touched every depth of human experience. There is no sorrow that is not known to You, and which You can not understand. Life has sorrows for us. Sometimes they are very keen. No human friend can quite understand them. Our loved ones want to help us — but cannot assuage our grief, nor can they give us true comfort. Earth has no sufficient consolation for us. So we turn to You, O Jesus, and ask You to help us in our sorrows. We want to bear them sweetly, without murmuring or complaining. We want to get the blessing which we know comes in every pain or suffering — but which so often Your children miss. We ask You to teach us how to suffer according to Your will. Give us the true comfort, which will enable us to endure quietly, whatever pain or trial we shall be called to endure. Help us to get the blessing in our sorrow. May we grow stronger and sweeter in every affliction. So may Your sympathy bless us, and may we be lifted up more and more fully into fellowship with You. We ask all in Your precious name, Jesus our Savior. Amen.

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TUESDAY EVENING

Almighty God, our most holy and eternal Father, who is of purer eyes than to behold evil — let Your gracious Spirit descend upon us this evening. Grant that no impure thoughts may pollute the souls which You have set apart for Yourself; that no unclean words may defile the lips which You have consecrated to be organs of Your praise; that no unholy acts may desecrate the hearts which You have chosen for Your temples. Grant that our souls may be kept pure for You; that our lips may be used only in speaking for You; and that the temples of our hearts may ever be worthy of Your indwelling.

We pray for the spirit of watchfulness, for all about us are evils — insidious, subtle, and intent on entering into us, to hurt us and lead us to sin. We cannot keep ourselves. We cannot guard our own hearts against these perils. Have mercy upon us, strong Son of God, who knows all about these powers of sin. Have mercy upon us; lead us not into temptation — but deliver us from the evil. Keep us, and grant that we may so live in this present world as not to fail of the glories of the world to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Bring us at last safely home to Your heavenly glory.

O Lord, most mighty and most merciful, we commend ourselves unto You, and to the word of Your grace, which is able to build us up and to give us an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. We beseech You to keep our souls from sin, our eyes from tears, and our feet from falling — that we may walk before You in the land of the living, and at the glorious appearing of Your Son, our Lord, may we be presented faultless before the presence of Your glory, with exceeding joy, through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ WEDNESDAY MORNING

O God, giver of all good, fountain of all mercy — we thank You for Your grace and for all the manifold tokens of Your thought and care for us. Your faithfulness never fails. Your mercies are new every morning, fresh every moment — more than we can remember. What shall we render unto You, for all Your goodness unto us? We have nothing to give — nothing but the poor love of our hearts; we give that to You. Grant us more and more of the spirit of praise and thanksgiving. Teach us to sing even when tears choke our songs. Give us songs in the night. Teach us how to rejoice, even in care and sorrow.

We praise You for our home and all it means to us. You have given us countless blessings, in the love that unites as a family. Our home is a little of Your love, poured into human hearts. We thank You for the shelter our home is to us, for the gentle affections that bind us so close together. May our home be sweeter to us as the days pass. Make our home life more congenial, more patient, more kindly. May our love be less selfish, and may it have more of the tenderness of Jesus in it.

We ask for special blessings for this day. We shall be exposed to dangers, when we know it not. Protect us from these. We are liable to accidents wherever we go; may You defend us from these, and grant us grace to pass through the moral contagion around us, unhurt by it. Give Your angels charge over us to keep us in all Your ways. Lead us Yourself wherever we go, that we may not stumble. Make us strong for holy service. Let Your protection be over us all the days; and give us strength for every duty. We ask all in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ WEDNESDAY EVENING Our waiting eyes are unto You, O Lord, this evening. The close of each day, puts upon us new obligations of gratitude for new mercies and favors. We are not worthy of the least of all Your goodnesses and loving kindnesses — for we have sinned against You. Yet we hope in Your mercy, and cast ourselves upon Your grace.

We thank You for the guardianship which You have exercised over us this day. We have gone out and come in — and You have kept us. You have blessed us in our home life, keeping us from harm, providing for our needs, fitting us for duty, strengthening us for toil and care. You have blessed us in our business, giving us a measure of prosperity, and enabling us to continue in our place and do our work.

We thank You for the grace which You have bestowed upon us, strengthening us to resist temptation, to take up and bear our daily crosses, to witness for You among our fellow-men.

Great Shepherd of all Your redeemed people, take each member of our family into Your special care, we beseech You. We cannot defend ourselves from the dangers of the darkness — so we simply entrust our lives to Your gracious keeping. May Your holy angels set their camp about our home. May You who do not slumber, watch over us.

We pray for all our friends and our neighbors. They have various needs. We cannot tell You what they each need — but You know. Grant to each one, that which will be the truest blessing to each. Lead them in right paths. Let none of them be eternally lost. Remember Your church, and give to it spiritual enrichment. And to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, be glory forever. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ THURSDAY MORNING

O God, who has redeemed us by the precious blood of the Lamb — help us, we beseech You, to live unto Your praise and to Your glory in all that we do. Since Jesus Christ has died for us and we are not our own — we desire to live worthy of Your holiness. We confess and renounce all our manifold transgressions. Teach us to hate all sin, and may we have grace to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil world, to the glory of Your holy name.

We ask You to reveal Yourself to us this morning as we go forth, and to give us the assurance of Your presence. You have promised that as our days — so shall our strength be; that Your grace shall always be sufficient for us. We plead these promises as we go into a new day, whose experiences we cannot foresee. We know not . . .
what dangers we shall meet,
what cross may be laid at our feet,
what temptation shall whisper the enticing word in our ear,
what pitfalls shall lie in our pathway,
what insidious influence shall imperil the purity of our souls. So we hide away in You and trust ourselves to You for keeping all the day.

We desire to be useful and helpful to others. Save us from selfishness and self-seeking. Teach us the great lesson of serving. May the mind be in us, which was also in Christ Jesus, who came to this world not to be ministered unto, but to minister. May we in love, serve one another. May we live to help others and to do good.

Help us to see the needs which we can relieve, to perceive the ways in which we can serve — and then give us the true spirit of ministry, that we may do the things which will bless our fellow-men. Fill us with Your Spirit that we may be like You. We ask all in the name of our Savior. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ THURSDAY EVENING

O Lord, we bow before You in loving reverence. From You come all our mercies — and we would praise You. We are sinful — and You are holy. We are not worthy to approach You. Yet you have made a way of access to You, so that we can draw near to You with boldness — as children to a father. Lord, make clean our hearts as we come to You. Fill us with Your Spirit, so that, being renewed in the temper and spirit of our minds, we may exhibit in our daily walk, all the virtues and graces of the Christian life.

We need washing tonight after the day’s journey in the sin-soiled world.
Our feet have been soiled in the dust as we have walked on earth’s roads,
our hands have been stained with the evil that is in the world,
our lips have been defiled with the words we have spoken which we ought not to have spoken, and
our hearts have been made unclean by the wrong thoughts, feelings, and imaginations which they have cherished.
May You cleanse us tonight. Wash us — and we shall be whiter than snow!

We have cares and worries which distract us at the close of the day. Help us to lay them all in Your hands — and leave them there. Give us Your peace. Help us to cast our burden upon You, and to leave it there. Make all things work together for our good. Have pity tonight, O God, upon the sorrowing, sinning world. Remember the poor, and open the hearts of those who have plenty that they may help those who lack. Look down in compassion upon the sick, and give them relief or patience to endure their pain. Give comfort to those who are in sorrow. Hear us in these our evening prayers, we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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FRIDAY MORNING

O God, who makes the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice — we thank You that we have gladness this morning. You have not made our night one of anguish and sorrow — but one of peace and comfort. It is because You kept us, that we have been so richly blessed. We lift our hearts to You this morning with thanksgiving, for the light and joy of a new day. Bless us as we go forth to our work. Bless our labors. Help us to be diligent. Let us not tire of the drudgeries which belong to our daily rounds. Help us to do all our tasks cheerfully.

Teach us how to do our common work for You. It will be easier for us if we can do it all for You. The burdens will not be so hard to bear, if we are bearing them for You. The drudgeries will be no more dreary, if we do them for You. Teach us to live all our life for You. Then we shall truly honor You.

Give us grace to make us kind and helpful to all we meet today. Sometimes we grow impatient, or fail to be courteous, or become irritable — in the vexing experiences of life. Other people are not always agreeable. Sometimes we must endure rudeness. O God, keep us loving and gentle, whatever the experiences are which we must endure. Enable us always to keep sweet in our spirits. We desire to honor You in our every act and word and disposition this day. Bless us with Your love. Fill us with Your Spirit. Then we shall be like Jesus, whatever others may be to us.

Make us true blessings wherever we go. Keep us from stumbling. Grant Your grace to all whom we love. And to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — we will give glory. Amen.

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FRIDAY EVENING

You alone, O Lord, make us to dwell in safety. We lie down at night under the shadow of Your wings, and our sleep is sweet — because You sustain us. We ask You now for another night of rest and comfort. As the sun has gone down, leaving darkness over us, we are reminded of our need of You. We have no power to keep or to care for ourselves. Be our protection this night. Let no evil assail us, let no plague come near our dwelling, let nothing alarm us. As the stars have come out at the going down of the sun — we are reminded of the promises of Your grace, which come out when the sun of prosperity or of human gladness sets above us. We would never see the stars, but for night — and we thank You for the many uplifting, comforting words in the Scripture, which we would never have seen, but for our trouble and sorrow. We have gotten many a precious meaning in Scripture, in time of trial, which we never saw before. Make Your word more and more a treasure house of reserved goodness, which You will give to us as we have need.

Grant to us an evening blessing. Sanctify our home life. May our love for each other grow more tender every day. Help us to find the best in each other. Help us each to give to the other the best that is in us. Preserve us from impatience, from lack of sweet courtesy — and give us grace to be kind the one to the other. May we learn from Jesus Christ, how to love at home. Enable us to be helpful to each other, making each other better, richer in life, braver, stronger. In Your great mercy, O God, forgive us all our sins, and bring us at last into Your heavenly kingdom, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ SATURDAY MORNING

O Lord, You created us in Your own image, that we might be Your true children; we come to You this morning seeking for favor. Whatever hinders our enjoying the full revealing of Your love — will You take away. As the rising sun has driven away the darkness — so may Your love dispel the shadows from our souls. As the light of the morning floods fields and valleys — so may Your grace flow about us. Illumine us with Your holy love.

We have sinned and come short of Your glory. We have dishonored You in our living. We desire to make this the best day we have ever lived. May You give us special grace, a special measure of Your Spirit, that we may keep near to You. Help us to do our common work better, more skillfully, more neatly, more swiftly than ever before. Help us to keep You more in our thoughts as we hurry here and there on our errands of duty. Give us more of the mind of Jesus, that we may be sweet-spirited, and kindly-affectioned. May Your love shine in our faces, so that we shall witness for You in all our walk and conversation. Sanctify our influence with others.

There are many friends who need Your help and blessing this day. There are some to whom duty will be hard because of discouragement. Life is not going smoothly with them. They have had reverses and losses. Remember such and bless them in their disheartenment. Keep them from being too much cast down. Give them courage and hope, and sustain them by Your grace. There are homes in distress because loved ones are sick. Tenderly bless such homes. Spare useful lives if it be Your will. We ask these mercies, sure of Your sympathy, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ SATURDAY EVENING

O God, our Father in Heaven, who has kept us through another week, we wait for an evening blessing. For all that the week has been to us, we thank You. Goodness and mercy have followed us all the days and nights. We have been fed daily from Your hand, as really as were Your people in the wilderness when manna was rained upon them morning by morning. You have blessed us with health, with friends, with the comforts of home, with the many good things of providence which the week has brought to us. But our part has not been so faithful. We have been forgetful and careless. We have not done all our duty to each other and to our neighbors. We have left undone, many things we ought to have done. Forgive us, and enable us to profit by the experience of our failure in the past and to live holier another week.

We leave all our work in Your hands. We look toward Sunday with hope and longing, for we desire to go again to Your sanctuary. Our souls thirst for You as a dry waterless land thirsts for rain. May we be prepared for Sunday, that when it comes we may be ready for rich blessing.

Keep us through the night. Protect us from all harm. Preserve our bodies from disease and from accident, and our souls from evil of every kind. May we rest in sweet peace and be refreshed by sleep. May our home have special protection from fire and every danger. We would not forget our friends. Give them a Saturday evening blessing.

Hear us in these our evening prayers, bless us, comfort, strengthen, and keep us. We ask all for the sake of Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.

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