66 66 Take the fruit I give you," says the bending tree; Lighten ye my branches; let them toss in air! Our Father in heaven, we pray that we may have the deep satisfaction of knowing by experience that the reward for bearing fruit is the increased ability and the opportunity to bear more fruit. We thank Thee that there is no joy like the joy of service. May we so know Thee and Thy goodness to us that our hearts will overflow with gratitude, and with a desire to bless Thy children, our brethren. Grant that, in this spirit of grateful service we may live this day and all our days, and may give to the world the fruits of a well-spent life. Amen. GIDEON I. KEIRN. A prayer in an hour of pain, Where the God of Nature has centered The beauty of Love The world is wide, these things are small, R. M. MILNES. Our Father, which art in heaven, we thank Thee for the light of the morning. May we begin the day with Thee. Thou art with us in the coming of the morning light. Thou makest us to dwell in safety. Thou hast crowned us with loving kindness and tender mercy. Prepare us for every experience of the day, whether bitter or sweet, dark or light, that in all the events of the day we may see Thy hand, and enjoy the care of the guardian angel. May we enter upon this day with a glad heart and a loving spirit. In darkness be our light; in sorrow, our comfort; in trial and temptation, our strength and refuge. May we be cheerful, hopeful, loving and lovable. Preserve us unto life eternal. Amen. WESLEY WIGGIN. I am immortal! I know it! I feel it! Running on air, mad with life, dizzy, reeling, Come, let us mount on the wings of the morning, Wild with all longing, now soaring, now staying, I am immortal! I feel it! I feel it! Love bears me up, love is might! Chance cannot touch me! Time cannot hush me! Fear, Hope, and Longing, at strife, Sink as I rise, on, on, upward forever, Gathering strength, gaining breath, — naught can sever Me from the Spirit of Life! MARGARET FULLER. O Thou, our loving Lord and Savior, Who hast said, "I am with you always," suffer us not to be deceived by the appearance, or feel that we are ever alone. Help us through each day and hour, to open the inner door of our hearts at which Thou art knocking. New every morning is Thy love. Help us to begin each day with Thee and whether or no the clouds cover our mental sky, to ever remember the sunshine above; and at each day's end to lay us down in peace and sleep, knowing that Thou wilt make us to dwell in safety. Amen. JOHN GODDARD. It's all in the day's journey· Sunshine and wind and rain, The bird's low note in the dewy dawn, Then ho! for the brave adventure, Dear Heart! The One who ordered our going, I think will show us the way, ELIZABETH ROBERTS MACDONALD. Our Father, we thank Thee that Thy Son was willing to become "a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." We thank Thee for the eternal light of life that shines from His smitten face and from the eternal joys born of His sadness and suffering. May hard experiences refine our lives and make of us strong men and women. School us in the consciousness that we are not alone. Help us to discover clearly that painful, hard experiences are not necessarily calamities. Keep us from making them such. May our trust in Thee and our love for Thee kill our needless complaints. Dear Lord, give us triumphant faith and Thy peace which abides through the turmoil and the night. Lift us from being sons of men into the station of the sons of God, by Christ our Lord. Amen. L. C. WRIGHT. My days are ships that put to sea Into the dim and starless night, I may not know till all is past What port they make when over sea; Shall find my ships awaiting me. Then may I stand and smile at Death, A little love, a little faith, A little deed of kindness done. STUART MACLEAN. O Lord, in the morning with the rising of the sun, make glad our hearts for mercies past and others yet to come. May each hour of this new day find us cheerful, hopeful, kind and faithful in the doing of Thy will. If clouds darken the sun, if storms sweep over land and sea, may they not obscure the light within our souls. May that light, through all experiences, grow brighter and brighter, until we see and share in the glory of the Perfect Day. Hear this our prayer, O Lord; and when the night cometh that calls us hence, may our days on earth record a useful and well-spent life. Amen. LEWIS V. PRICE. |