Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O LORD, according to your word.
Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD,
and teach me your ordinances.
I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
Your decrees are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.
O God of light,
in whom there is no darkness at all,
shine your lamp on the path before me.
Light my way that I may not stumble.
Show me the pitfalls, the traps, the snares before me
and give me the strength to step confidently.
Through the day and into the night,
I meditate on your life giving Word.
In the sacred stories,
I find hope, courage, and strength.
Illumine my mind, my heart, and my soul
that I will be singular in my devotion to my faithful savior, Jesus Christ,
"whom to know is life,
whom to serve is freedom,
whom to love is joy!" **
Amen.
** This part of the prayer I learned from Dr. Howard Hansen serving at First Presbyterian Church, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He remembered it from the 1946 Book of Common Worship from a prayer for Candidates for Ministry, p. 218. Thank you, Howard, for teaching me to pray this phrase!
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