I was reading an old prayer book when I discovered this:
My God, grant that I may love Thee, and let the only reward of my love be to love Thee more and more.
I decided to make this one of my primary prayers for 2019. Perhaps you can think about this prayer, too.
When your book is rejected:
My God, grant that I may love Thee, and let the only reward of my love be to love Thee more and more.
When someone lets you down:
My God, grant that I may love Thee, and let the only reward of my love be to love Thee more and more.
When you feel overwhelmed:
My God, grant that I may love Thee, and let the only reward of my love be to love Thee more and more.
When you struggle with failure:
My God, grant that I may love Thee, and let the only reward of my love be to love Thee more and more.
When you struggle with success:
My God, grant that I may love Thee, and let the only reward of my love be to love Thee more and more.
When everything is going well, as I hope will be your blessing in 2019 and beyond:
My God, grant that I may love Thee, and let the only reward of my love be to love Thee more and more.
May all of us love God more and more with each passing day.
Happy New Year.
I love that prayer! I’m going to add it to my morning prayer “Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.”
What an uplift. For several years I have included this prayer in my daily devotions.
“Father, I love You! I pray to love you more and more. And I pray that you would use me to teach and encourage others to love you.”
Thank you so much for sharing that. It is a beautiful perspective.
This is the best thing I have read all year! It needs a 5-star rating! We so often get other things in the way of the One Reason we are here: to love God. Great reminder!
Lord, give me strength to stay this course
that you’ve chosen as mine own.
My legs are weary, my voice grown hoarse
and fear chills me to the bone.
I walked once in the untrammeled bright
light of the dreams that let soul soar
over days thought hard, times fancied tight,
and past that devil-lion’s roar.
Those were lotus-eating years of ease
compared to the normal of now,
in this gyre of pain, is it “Oh, please
dear God, restore this broken bough!”?
Nay, begone, weak thoughts! Flay my hide
with holy scourge; at last I walk by Your side.
Wow. Thanks, Andrew.
well said, Andrew.
Andrew, as usual your indomitable spirit shines with the glory of your father. Bless you, my friend. Grace, peace and victory be yours.
Amen and amen, Tamela!
Amen.
Just what I needed today. Thank you, Tamela.
Thank you!
This is lovely. It inspired me to take the categories, add two of my own and
strengthen the prayer matching it to the category.
Wonderful share, thank you very much.
Beautiful. Thank you, Tamela.
Thank you for sharing this today, Tamela – – such a wonderful, sweet prayer.
May your new year be overflowing with blessings! 🙂
Oh this prayer is just wonderful!
My prayer last year was, “I want more of you, Lord.” Whatever came my way, good or bad, I continued to look to Him and pray for more of Him. I prayed it for my family too, knowing that is what we all really need.
This year (actually since Christmas) my prayer has expanded. “I want more of you, Lord, and I want to love you more.” So again, come what may, I will continue to look to Him…”to love Thee more and more.”
Thank you, Tamela! Blessings to you in 2019 and always. 🙂
This prayer is beautiful. Thank you, Tamela; I’ll try to internalize it.
Such a beautiful reminder. Thanks for sharing, Tamela! Have a blessed new year!
Thank you, Tamela. Beautiful words to remember. Love is the only way to bring peace to our hearts and have joy in those around us. May you have a blessed year ahead.
Happy New Year, Tamela and all –
The only things I add to that wonderful prayer are prayers for those He created to come to know His love, too (no matter who). That I somehow share a word of His encouragement. And to thank Him that He is my portion (Psalm 73) and my treasure, my crown.
Admittedly, I pray that my MS will be from Him, not me, and accepted… 🙂
May 2019 (for all!) be filled with His grace, joy, and presence when in times of darkness and constant prayer and praise.
Thank you all for your comments and for being such a beautiful and supportive blog community!
Dear Tamela, thou writer’s blessing
of cheer and hope and Godly faith,
our respect for thee is beyond confessing
in myriad tongues of men, so we saith
to the angels and to the Lord on High,
“We praise Thee, Lord, for the presence
of Your willing servant, ready to guide us nigh
the place where enters author’s pleasance,
that garden-corner-hermitage
where our stories, nurtured and pruned
gain strength to leap unto the printed page
to sing of God, an orchestra so finely tuned
with the help of a noble Lady, who gave her time,
and heart to many, and to the writer of this rhyme.”
Thank you so much, Andrew. I am touched, awed, and humbled.
Amen! That is the perfect New Years’ Resolution.
Amen. Thank you for always encouraging me. 🙂
I love this. I really do. So, here’s the conviction part – this is hard for me… partly because I try to stay in His will. Partly because I can doubt I am in His will. Partly because I want what I want – the pesky flesh part. All the more reason to post the prayer in my prayer list as a reminder.
Thank you, Tamela for sharing these beautiful prayers. What an inspiring way to begin a new year!
Beautiful, worthy expression that puts the focus in the right place. Thank you.
Love this so much, Tamela! It’s a beautiful prayer and puts the focus right back where it should be.
Thanks, Tamela. I hope you don’t mind if I “cut” this out and “paste” it on a little piece of paper to stick on my monitor to remind me to keep on praying this and praying it again.
Another thing we can do for this new year comes from James McDonald: “Repentance is “recognition of sin followed by heartfelt sorrow (grief), followed by a change in behavior.”, and may God richly bless you with the joys that come from serving Him.
A wonderful prayer we all can use in not only our daily lives, but the world could use this. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing, Tamela. I needed that today.
What an uplift! For several years I have had this prayer in my daily devotions.
“Father, I love You! I pray to love you more and more. And I pray that you would use me to teach and encourage others to love you.”