The following  prayer was first offered back in the   1700′s.  It is from the largely forgotten deposit of the Puritan Movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  These people knew God and they certainly knew how to pray.  We can learn a lot from them. They are written in old english.  I have updated  a few outdated words and changed the Thee’s and Thou’s to make it more 2011.  However, they still have the feel of that era.   This prayer, titled ’Morning Dedication’,  along with many others, can be found in a book titled “The Valley of Vision”, by Arthur Bennett.

ALMIGHTY GOD,

As I begin this day
I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to your care;
Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me.
Incline my heart to your ways;
Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay;
May my lips be a well-tuned instrument to sound your praise;

Let those around see me living by your Spirit,
           trampling the world underfoot,
           unconformed to lying vanities,
           transformed by a renewed mind,
           clad in the entire armour of God,
           shining as a never-dimmed light,
           showing holiness in all I do.

Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands.
May I travel muddy paths with a life pure from spot or stain.
In those things I must do let my devotion be in heaven,
           and my love soar upwards in flames of fire,
           my gaze fixed on unseen things,
           my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility,
                  mockery of earth and its arrogance.

May I view all things in the mirror of eternity,
         waiting for the coming of my Lord,
         listening for the last trumpet call,
         hastening unto the new heaven and earth.

Order this day all my communications according to your wisdom,
        and to the gain of mutual good.

Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable.
May I speak each word as if my last word,
         and walk each step as my final one.

If my life should end today, let this be my best day.

For more of these old prayers, check out our Prayer Page at: https://notforitchingears.com/prayer-of-the-week/