Morning Glory

Glory to God in the highest!

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
let all that is within me bless His holy name!

My mind gropes for words to express something bigger than it can grasp:
the glory, the majesty, the wonder of the Most High.
Something I can't see, something I can only faintly imagine.
Something that I fear I do not love, because the only things I love
are earthly, sensual, things I can touch and see.

Yet I find hidden in the folds of my heart something curious, something wonderful:
I do love God.
I am frankly amazed to find it there, but there it is:
I do love God.

Me, stupid, foul and filthy me—
and He, great and glorious Creator, Redeemer, Justifier,
Saver of the foul and filthy.

My heart overflows,
for at least as long as I can keep it from wandering away among the dandelions.
But while I have it here, captive for a moment,
let me pray.

Happily I find that God Himself has provided words I may use,
provided them in the text of His holy Book.

My Father in Heaven:
Holy is Your name.  Holy!
May Your kingdom come, Your will be done
in the frail dust of my life just as before Your throne.
Give me what You know I need to survive this day.
Forgive me, O Lord, forgive me my sins!
For Jesus' sake I forgive others too.
And lead me not into temptation—
(yes, Lord, I'm praying that again)—
but deliver me from evil:
the evil of the world, the evil of my own flesh,
the evil of Satan himself.
You can do this, and to You all praise and obedience is due;
for the kingdom is Yours,
the power is Yours,
the glory, all glory, is Yours—
both now and forevermore.

Amen.