Prayer - Our Father, Bless Us This Morning. Lay Your Hand on Each
The sermon emphasizes the importance of prayer for protection, guidance, strength, and wisdom, as well as forgiveness and growth, in order to live a life that honors God and brings blessings to others.
J.R. Miller emphasizes the importance of seeking God's blessing and guidance through prayer, asking for His hand to be upon us as we face the day. He encourages believers to cast their weaknesses upon God, trusting Him to lead and protect them from evil while enabling them to fulfill their daily responsibilities with grace and integrity. Miller highlights the need for the Holy Spirit to fill us, allowing us to reflect Christ's love and compassion in our interactions with others. He also acknowledges the necessity of forgiveness and growth in grace, committing the day's work and relationships to God's care. The sermon concludes with a prayer for rest and for those in need, reinforcing the theme of reliance on God's protection and guidance.
Text
Our Father, bless us this morning. Lay Your hand on each of our heads as we bow before You, and give us a Father's blessing. Then we can go out into the great world without fear. Keep us from evil all the day. Let us not wander from Your side. Hold us with Your hand, leading us and guarding us from falling. You are able to keep us from stumbling, and to present us faultless in glory. We cast our weakness upon You.
Bless us in whatever experiences the day may bring to us. May this be to each of us a day of growth in grace. May we be enabled to do our work well. Help us in our household duties and cares. Let us not be fretted or vexed with worries. Help us to do simply our duty, and then leave all of life's tangles in Your hands. Help us also in our business and work. May we have grace to be honest in all our dealings with others, truthful in all our life and conversation, and consistent in our conduct and behavior -- so that all who see us, shall see Jesus in us.
We desire to make this day one of loving ministry in Your name, to others. Fill us with Your Spirit, so that wherever we go, our faces may shine with the brightness of divine love. Help us to be as Jesus to those we meet. Fill us with Your love, Your peace, Your grace, Your compassion -- so that Your life really shall be revealed in us. May our wayside ministry be one of blessing. Enable us by simple kindnesses, by gentleness, and grace of manner, and by words of encouragement and comfort -- to be a blessing to everyone we meet today.
We remember our friends, and ask You to bless them all. Receive us now into your care, use us, bless us, and keep us, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
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MONDAY EVENING
We come now at the close of the day, our Father, to You. For the guidance You have given us, in answer to our morning prayer, we thank You. Whatever we have done to please You -- may You accept. Whatever has been wrong in our conduct, in our dispositions, in our tempers, in our affections -- may You graciously forgive. If we have cherished unkind feelings toward others; if we have been envious, selfish, resentful, or jealous -- we ask You to forgive us and to cleanse our hearts.
We earnestly wish to grow out of these faults of our old nature. We are not content to live, letting the old nature rule in us. But You know how hard it is for us to overcome these evil things in our hearts. May Your grace in us subdue them. We earnestly pray that You will fill us with Your Holy Spirit, and may we put off the things that displease You, and put on the new man, with all the gentle affections of our Savior. May the fruits of the Spirit abound in us. May whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, be in us.
We leave now in Your care, all the work of the day. If we have left any evil influence on any other life -- we ask that You will arrest the impression. May You take whatever has been good and helpful in us during the day -- and use it for the blessing of other lives, and for the glory of Your great name.
As we go now to our rest, we commit ourselves to Your care for the night. You are our keeper. We hide under the shadow of Your wings, and we will rest securely because You will keep us. We pray for the poor, the sick, the troubled, the sorrowing, and the dying. We ask these favors in Jesus' precious name. Amen.
Sermon Outline
- Prayer for Protection and Guidance
- Prayer for Strength and Wisdom
- Prayer for Forgiveness and Growth
- Prayer for Rest and Care
- Leaving the work of the day in God's care
- Committing ourselves to God's care for the night
Key Quotes
“May this be to each of us a day of growth in grace.” — J.R. Miller
“May we be enabled to do our work well.” — J.R. Miller
“May we have grace to be honest in all our dealings with others, truthful in all our life and conversation, and consistent in our conduct and behavior -- so that all who see us, shall see Jesus in us.” — J.R. Miller
Application Points
- Take time each day to pray for protection and guidance, asking God to lay His hand on you and guide you throughout the day.
- Strive to be a blessing to others through kind, gentle, and gracious actions and words.
- Commit yourself to God's care each day, leaving your worries and concerns in His hands.