PRAYER

O Lord, help me.
I have been saved to be a
vessel of your glory and not
my own. Yet, I feel my flesh
demand attention and crave
after glory! Help me turn my
gaze toward Jesus. Help me
turn away from my self focused
and self-centered living and
instead live for Christ alone.

Lord, I beg of you, I cry out
to you to help me truly believe
the gospel. I want to believe
 the gospel in such a way that it
helps me lose myself so that I
can become fully who I have
been created to be in Christ!
I want to believe the gospel
in such a way that it impacts
how I live each and every
moment of each and every
day as well as how I react
toward others.

I want my life to be distinctively
gospel driven. I want you to do
for me what you did for Peter
and for Paul. I plead with you to
help me see myself and my sin
and to see Jesus and His sacrifice
so that I have a clear understanding
of what you have done for me in
Christ. Even as a believer, I can
barely comprehend it.

Abba Father, have mercy
upon me. Help me live for Jesus
just as He did for me. Help me
be willing to die to myself so
that Christ would live in me.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.


In His hands for His glory,

Laurie

Thistlebend Devotion 7/17/2018

 _____________________ 
  

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I want to love you.

I want to love you so much that
I would be willing to leave
everything that I hold dear
to follow you. I want to love
you so much that I would
die to my passions and my
preferences and surrender
to your will and your way.

Please grant me your grace, your
mercy, and your lovingkindness
to enable me to love you with
absolutely everything in me.
Thank you that your Word tells
me that if we ask anything in your
name and according to your will that
you will do it (John 14:13-14). Please
do this in me, I pray. Amen.


In His hands for His glory,

Laurie Akers ~ Thistlebend May 4, 2018

Easter Prayer

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that we, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the  Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen.



From the Book of Common Prayer, Easter Week - Tuesday collect.

Litany of Penitence

Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault
in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and
strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We
have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.
We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved
your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the
pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation
of other people,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those
more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and
our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to
commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done:
for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our
indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our
neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those
who differ from us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of
concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.

Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,
Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.



The Litany of Penitence is borrowed from the Ash Wednesday liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer. This can be found online here.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

““My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.””

John 17:20-26 NIV

Be Thou My Vision

Be thou my vision O Lord of my heart
None other is aught but the King of the seven heavens.

Be thou my meditation by day and night.
May it be thou that I behold even in my sleep.

Be thou my speech, be thou my understanding.
Be thou with me, be I with thee

Be thou my father, be I thy son.
Mayst thou be mine, may I be thine.

Be thou my battle-shield, be thou my sword.
Be thou my dignity, be thou my delight.

Be thou my shelter, be thou my stronghold.
Mayst thou raise me up to the company of the angels.

Be thou every good to my body and soul.
Be thou my kingdom in heaven and on earth.

Be thou solely chief love of my heart.
Let there be none other, O high King of Heaven.

Till I am able to pass into thy hands,
My treasure, my beloved through the greatness of thy love

Be thou alone my noble and wondrous estate.
I seek not men nor lifeless wealth.

Be thou the constant guardian of every possession and every life.
For our corrupt desires are dead at the mere sight of thee.

Thy love in my soul and in my heart --
Grant this to me, O King of the seven heavens.

O King of the seven heavens grant me this --
Thy love to be in my heart and in my soul.

With the King of all, with him after victory won by piety,
May I be in the kingdom of heaven O brightness of the son.

Beloved Father, hear, hear my lamentations.
Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch.

O heart of my heart, whatever befall me,
O ruler of all, be thou my vision.

English translation by Mary Byrne (1905)

Your Will Be Done

Lord, help me get past myself, 

my feelings, my concerns, and my 

unbelief, and grant me the faith to 

walk forward in grace to turn my 

eyes toward you. Lord, increase my 

faith that I would believe, that I 

would magnify, glorify, and hallow 

your name! I am weak, please 

be my strength; I have many 

responsibilities, please grant me 

your wisdom and your power to 

accomplish them for your glory;

I continue to give into temptation, 

Lord, and fail in my walk with you, 

please grant me true conviction of 

heart and full repentance; I

feel inadequate and ill-equipped,

please help me trust in you and walk 

forward in your Holy Spirit;

I am sick, my health is failing, help 

me find my rest and health in you;

I have this day, Lord, this 

day that you have made, let me 

rejoice in it and help me give it

all to you; I have these hands, these 

feet; let me use them to serve you;

I have many thoughts and 

feelings; help guard my mind

and watch over my heart that they 

would all be glorifying to you.

Hallowed be your name, 

your kingdom come, 

your will be done!

From Thistlebend Devotional 1/10/2018

Advent Week One

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.



Weekly Collect for Advent Week 1 from the Book of Common Prayer

Show Me Your Glory

Lord, please turn my eyes
and my heart on you.
And show me your glory.



By Laurie Aker, from Thistlebend e-devotional, November 14

Faith, hope and charity

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.




Weekly collect for October 29 from the Book of Common Prayer

Jesus Prayer Expanded

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.

“LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.”
-Psalm 143:1 NIV

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.

Believe The Gospel

Father, let the gospel be what

my world is centered upon.

Please make it uppermost in my

thoughts and life everyday.

Help me to preach the gospel to

myself moment by moment.

And live it out each passing hour.
Amen.

By Laurie Aker, "Do You Believe the Gospel?," Thistlebend eMoment, Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Partakers of Heavenly Treasure

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


Weekly Collect for October 1, from the Book of Common Prayer

Prayer of confession

Please forgive me when
I believe my feelings
instead of choosing faith.
Please forgive me when
I listen to my thoughts
instead of your voice.
Please forgive me when
I rely on my own insight
instead of your wisdom
and your Word.

Your love is perfect.
Your ways are perfect.
Your glory is forever.


Amen.



By Laurie Aker, Thistlebend Email Devotional, Friday, September 22, 2017

Prayer of Humility

Humble Jesus, I desire you. Amen.

Graft in Our Hearts

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.



Weekly collect for Sept. 3 from the Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 91:1-2

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”



Psalm 91:1-2, NIV

Prayer of St. Augustine

Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know Thee,
And desire nothing save only Thee.
Let me hate myself and love Thee.
Let me do everything for the sake of Thee.
Let me humble myself and exalt Thee.
Let me think nothing except Thee.
Let me die to myself and live in Thee.
Let me accept whatever happens as from Thee.
Let me banish self and follow Thee,
and ever desire to follow Thee.
Let me fly from myself and take refuge in Thee,
that I may deserve to be defended by Thee.
Let me fear for myself, let me fear Thee,
and let me be among those who are chosen by Thee.
Let me distrust myself and put my trust in Thee.
Let me be willing to obey for the sake of Thee.
Let me cling to nothing save only to Thee,
and let me be poor because of Thee.
Look upon me, that I may love Thee.
Call me that I may see Thee,
And forever enjoy Thee.




Prayer attributed to St. Augustine

The Deeps

LORD JESUS,

Give me a deeper repentance,
a horror of sin,
a dread of its approach;
Help me chastely to flee it,
and jealously to resolve that my heart
shall be thine alone.
Give me a deeper trust,
that I may lose myself to find myself in thee,
the ground of my rest,
the spring of my being.
Give me a deeper knowledge of thyself
as Saviour, Master, Lord, and King.
Give me deeper power in private prayer,
more sweetness in thy Word,
more steadfast grip on its truth.
Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action,
and let me not seek moral virtue apart from thee.
Plough deep in me, great Lord,
heavenly Husbandman,
that my being may be a tilled field,
the roots of grace spreading far and wide,
until thou alone art seen in me,
thy beauty golden like summer harvest,
thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.
I have no Master but thee,
no law but thy will,
no delight but thyself,
no wealth but that thou givest,
no good but that thou blessest,
no peace but that thou bestowest.
I am nothing but that thou makest me,
I have nothing but that I receive from thee,
I can be nothing but that grace adorns me.
Quarry me deep, dear Lord,
and then fill me to overflowing
with living water.



From "The Valley of Vision" p 134-135, edited by Arthur Bennett

Prayer of St. Teresa

Govern everything by your wisdom, O Lord, so that my soul may always be serving you
in the way you will
and not as I choose.
Let me die to myself so that I may serve you;
let me live to you who are life itself.

Amen.



Attributed to St. Teresa Of Avila