Another Daily Prayer

Do you have set prayers you use every day? Many Christians through the ages have prayed The Lord’s Prayer daily. Assorted table prayers are offered up daily. A common one is “Bless us, Oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen”

The so called “Serenity Prayer” is a favorite across Christendom for daily devotions. Many Lutheran Christians pray Luther’s Morning and Evening prayers every day. Some time ago I began daily to put on the whole armor of God with prayer.

May I suggest another prayer for your daily prayer habit?

Try praying this every morning before you head out for the day. “Jesus, guide me today to say what I should say and strengthen me not to say what I should not say. Amen.”

A friend of mine taught this to me. He said he prayed it every time he went to visit his children and grandchildren. That’s indeed a wise time to pray such a prayer.

Recently, my life has become very complicated. My work takes me into all sorts of different realms. There are overlapping circles of responsibility, interests, and even power. I talk with a lot of people about a lot of different things. Confidences must be kept. Truth must be brought to light. People are interested in what I have heard about this or that and seek my opinions.

Conflicts abound. Who said what and which things can be shared? If I say something, will it help or hurt? Is my motivation to speak self-centered or other-centered? How do I decide what must be said? How do I decide what should not be said?

That’s where this new favorite prayer comes in. “Jesus, guide me today to say what I should say and strengthen me not to say what I should not say. Amen.”

Language is a great gift. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a silver setting.” (Proverbs 25:11) Language can also be used as a curse. Scripture talks about the difficulty in taming the tongue. Every parent has told the children, “There’s a reason you have two ears and one mouth.”

Ultimately, my world is no different than yours. We all hear all sorts of things we’d love to share. We all have an abundance of opinions. We all are tempted to speak when we should be silent and silent when we should speak. This applies not just face to face but behind people’s back or on assorted social media platforms.

Let us pray. The Lord’s Prayer to be sure. Tables prayers before meals. Famous prayers handed down through the centuries. And this one too.

“Jesus, guide me today to say what I should say and strengthen me not to say what I should not say. Amen.”

It fits my world. It fits your world. And it will make our world a better one.