Eternal Father of my soul, let my first thought today be of you, let my first impulse be to worship you, let my first word be your Name,
let my first action be to kneel before you in prayer.
(John Baillie)
Father, I give back into Your hands all that You have given me:
My gifts and talents.
I rededicate them to Your service, they are Yours to use as You want, Father. They are Yours, Christ Jesus. All these are Yours, Holy Spirit.
May they bring You glory.
My passion.
Use my passion for words to keep me searching out the right words for the right moment, that they may be like apples of gold in settings of silver. Let them be faithful and arrive true at their destination.
My purpose.
O Lord, speak through my words today. Thank You for making use of me to fulfill Your mighty purpose for the world and for my neighbour. Let me be a channel of Your love and compassion to those within reach of my words. Fold Your purpose for my writing into Your ultimate purpose, that my words might bring You glory.
My perseverance.
Help me to persevere when the writing is hard, when the trials and urgencies of the day keep me from the page. And when I have to be away from the writing, may the thoughts and ideas keep percolating so that when I return, Your voice is the ink flowing onto the page.
Keep me mindful that writing is a gift and a privilege. May I never take it for granted or make it an idol.
You alone are worthy.
O God my Creator, accompany me into this day with Your blessing, and may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
Amen
~~~~~
Joy writes from Edmonton where she lives with The Cowboy and very-soon-to-be-married Babe. She is appreciating the prayers of John Baillie, which can be found in the classic, A Diary of Private Prayer.
Find more of Joy's writing at Scraps of Joy.
Photo by Tom Henell on Unsplash
Joy, You covered the theme beautifully with this prayer. It is a prayer to set alongside any writing project as a focus and reminder. The lines you share from the Psalms--May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord--how often I whisper these same words as I go through my days.
ReplyDeleteThe lines from Psalm 19:14 are often on my lips too, Brenda. The words we say/write begin with the meditations of our hearts don’t they?
DeleteThis is so beautiful, Joy! Thank you! This line near the end really resonated with me: Keep me mindful that writing is a gift and a privilege. May I never take it for granted or make it an idol. AMEN!!
ReplyDeleteI know I’ve been guilty of making writing The Thing, forgetting that it must be something I offer back to God. So, this prayer is a good reminder.
DeleteThank you for this beautiful, apt writer's prayer, Joy. I am going to post a printed copy of it near my desk, to remind me to always bathe my writing with prayer. I especially connected with this sentence:
ReplyDelete"And when I have to be away from the writing, may the thoughts and ideas keep percolating so that when I return, Your voice is the ink flowing onto the page."
So much of our writing happens internally before it reaches the page. God's voice being the ink flowing onto the page is exactly my goal. Blessings!
I don’t know about you, but I find it frustrating when life interrupts my writing. Those lines you mention help me to remember that even when I’m not writing, I’m writing. Praise God for that!
DeleteAbsolutely beautiful and personal, Joy. Thanks very much for sharing this wonderful prayer.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Sharon. 😊
DeleteI always love a prayer from someone's heart - one that is thankful, isn't afraid to ask for everything that glorifies Him and fills you with His love. I couldn't help but repeat the line: "Your voice is the ink flowing onto the page." God's voice is in us and all around us. His voice can be made known in so many ways. Thanks for such a beautiful prayer.
ReplyDeleteHi Joy! My poet heart embraces your words. A personal prayer we can all thank God for. Please keep writing, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder that we write for the Father. Even simple things like answering e-mail can bring God glory.
ReplyDelete