Friends,
I thought I'd compose a prayer for the running and race-day success of both myself and that of my two children (Brenna and Liam) who will be running in the Modesto Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving. Feel free to modify it for your own situation if you like it. The only thing I ask is that it be sincere. I am convinced that our Lord is not pleased by empty prayers and numb rote recitations. It is my hope that this prayer if of help to you in some way.
Here it is - in blue:
Father, you are Infinite, Eternal, and Unchangeable. You are All-Wise, All-Powerful, and Holy, Holy, Holy. Your Justice is Perfect and You are All-Good. You are Truth Itself, and there is no shadow of turning in You. You hate a lying tongue and you hate a lie. You are good to Your children. You are good to these same children who have often made idols of things which do not last - and of themselves. You are Gracious, Forgiving, and You dwell in the Light. You, Three Persons in One Godhead - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, are Light and Life itself. You are King of the Universe and Lord of everything in it. You are a Mighty Warrior and a Gentle Shepherd. Praise be to Your Name!
I have sinned. My children have sinned. We have made idols of those things which cannot save. We have made idols of ourselves, our accomplishments, and those things we hope to accomplish. I have been guilty of claiming the name of a disciple of Christ, yet have sought my own glory. I have thought heady thoughts, and embraced the allure and false beauty and false virtue of the Renaissance spirit. I have took hold of the Humanistic lie "homo mensura" instead of accepting my own creatureliness - and Your Lordship over me as the Potter over the clay. Though I have wanted to serve you and have endeavored to run for Your Glory, my pious thoughts and intentions have been mixed with pride and self-interested ambition - seeking my own glory and relishing the defeat of others. I have sinfully been energized by the desire to be dominant for the sake of dominance. I have sinfully made sacrifices - but sacrifices for the wrong reasons - sacrifices for my own glory and success rather than for Your Glory. I have been spiritually lazy. Father, you know my thoughts. There is much more. My best thoughts and efforts are still tainted with sin.
But I trust in You. You have been Faithful. You have given this vain man success and happiness he does not deserve. You have given this undeserving man the ability to withstand pain. You have given me the gift of endurance, stamina, and the ability to find a strange kind of joy in physical exertion, suffering, and fatigue. You have given me patience and perseverance. You have even given me a measure of wisdom and know-how in regards to the discipline of running. You have given me general good health. You have, at times, given me victory over my competitors and over my own self-doubt. By Your Providence, You gave me a dad who cared enough to cultivate my latent and undiscovered gifts when I was a shy, physically lazy, non-athletic kid. You gave him patience with me - and you provided an outlet and opportunity for strengthening our relationship through running. Through this outlet, you also showed me that though I may lack ball-handling skills, some social skills, and lack general sports know-how - I can suffer like no one's business. I can endure - and many times gain the victory over those who have more natural speed and talent. You have blessed my wife and me with children as well. You have blessed me with children who trust in you as I do. They even seem to have these same gifts - and seemingly without much of the sin baggage that my gifts are accompanied with - though I know they still have sin baggage too. Thank you for their love for You and their love for me. Thank you for their patient character, their energy, their love of movement, and their desire to do a good job. Thank you for their love of running and how this unites us even closer together.
Father, may it be that You would cause us to use our gifts to Your Glory! Cause us to understand that we would be nothing without You and any perceived greatness we had, have, or will have is only through Your Power! Cause us to run well and to run swiftly! Cause us to endure physical pain and suffering! If we feel like quitting - or the voice inside our heads tells us to "take it easy" when we start to feel the burning in the legs and in the lungs, shut that voice down! Give us the victory over our nagging spirit of laziness and half-hearted efforts! May it please You to work through us - as examples of perseverance, strength, swiftness, and grace! May Brenna more fully discover and experience her God-given gifts! May you give her the victory over doubt and fear! May Liam discover his unique gifts as well as taste the warrior spirit you give to your sons! May they both praise Your Name in victory as well as in defeat! Give us the heart and compassion to value others' efforts and seek their good as well as our own! Lord, help us balance the desires that so often seem at odds with one another! I pray that though we may not win this race or other races - that we would have a victory over all slothfulness, faithlessness, and those things which would cause us to falter and not to do our very best! Give us the victory over self-pride! May we dedicate our running efforts to You - and that we would run our races as living sacrifices of praise to You our Lord and our God!
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