Passing Along a Prayer

Hello all!! I hope everyone has had a good week. It’s Friday! How can you be kind to yourself today after a long and, maybe, hard week?

I wanted to pass along this wonderful prayer by Henri Nouwen; it has been a blessing to me as I have struggled to surrender my old self… my worries, my sins, my past… to Christ in my day to day life…

“O Lord, who else or what else can I desire but you?  You are my Lord, Lord of my heart, mind, and soul.  You know me through and through.  In and through you, everything that is finds its origin and goal.  You embrace all that exists and care for it with divine love and compassion.

“Why, then, do I keep expecting happiness and satisfaction outside of you?  Why do I keep relating to you as one of my many relationships, instead of my only relationship, in which all other ones are grounded?  Why do I keep looking for popularity, respect from others, success, acclaim, and sensual pleasures.  Why, Lord, is it so hard for me to make you the only one?  Why do I keep hesitating to surrender myself totally to you?

“Help me, O Lord, to let my old self die, to let me die to the thousand big and small ways in which I am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires.  Let me be reborn in you and see through the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, and thoughts can become a hymn of praise to you.

“I need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self to a new life in and for you.  I know and trust that this is the road to freedom.”

Wow, wow, wow. “I know and trust that this is the road to freedom”… laying down your old self: your past, your worries, your sins, your mistakes, your self away from Christ… whatever you hold onto that keeps you from completely surrendering to the Lord… is the road to freedom.

I have struggled with this. I still do. On a day to day basis I have to ask myself these questions: What is keeping me back from the Lord today? What do I need to lay down at the foot of the cross today? What is keeping me from surrender today?

But, y’all, we can’t carry the weight of this world on our shoulders. And that is why Jesus Christ died on the cross… He carried the weight of the world on His shoulders so we wouldn’t have to. Lay it down at His feet. Give your worries up to Him. He’s got you in His hands.

Ask yourself this today: What do I need to surrender to the Lord so I can follow His will for my life? What is holding me back from this road to freedom?

Now, read that prayer again. Read it out loud. Meditate on it. Let it sink into your heart. It’s good stuff. I’m praying for each and every one of y’all. Much love!!