Dear God, I deny myself nothing. I want more than my share of prestige, of security, of affection. All my instincts bend toward self.

Lord, let me look outward. Let me direct my energies toward fulfilling your instructions, toward bringing your light out into the world.

You give me the gift of energy. Let me use it for the benefit of those around me. Let me find joy in providing for others the very things I crave for myself. Let me increase others’ feelings of security, of respect, of being loved.

Let this be my living prayer to you.

(Letter #974)

Dear God, so much depends on the story I tell myself about the circumstances you deliver to me. What one day I may perceive as a calamity, on another day I may recognize as a gift. One day I may be bitter from boredom, another I may be grateful for quiet respite.

Lord, it is in my power to be grateful for your gifts, then, in almost any circumstance. Let me therefore have a grateful attitude today. Let me be so grateful for your beneficence that I am moved to pass on that spirit to others. Let me spread joy. Your will, surely, is that I reflect your love upon my fellows.

Lord, let me feel your freedom and love. Let me walk erect through this day, beaming.

(Letter #973)

Dear God, I am so brittle. Let one aspect of my routine get disrupted, and I regard it as a crisis. Yet you have constructed me such that I benefit from constant variation and my duties, my challenges, my exertions. Faced with novel difficulties, I am both more prone to call to you for help, and more prone to thrive. Yet I view such episodes with terror.

Lord, let me eagerly anticipate your new directions. The more buffeting the winds, the more chaotic the challenges – the more let me accept and grow.

God, let me not shrink in fear from what you place before me, as if effort were a punishment and change were a torture. Your every gift is magnificent if I will but see it so.

(Letter #972)

Dear God, I pray to you alone, in solitude. In secret. Yet you speak to me through others, all throughout the day. Your voice comes not just from my friends and fellows. I find your hand and words in everything.

How, then, can I extend my prayer throughout the day? How can I meet you where you are, and not selfishly demand that you visit me in my private rooms?

Lord, let this quiet time when I speak to you set the tone for my thinking today. Let me think love now, alone, and act and speak love when I am out among the world.

Lord, my sweet Lord, come down and visit me, set my feet right and open my heart to hear your words flow out of the mouths of the world. Guide my doings. Thy will be done.

(Letter #971)

Dear God, let me do better than simply cope with the events of the day. Let me not see them as something to be mastered, but instead as a gift to be enjoyed, a resource over which I have a duty of stewardship. Let me walk through this day lightly, leaving the world better than I found it. Let me find enjoyment in this task.

Let me have enthusiasm for helping my fellows and improving conditions. Above all, let me revel in seeking your will, in improving myself so as to meet the requirements of the day.

Let me be ready that you root out my selfishness, my irresponsibility, my pettiness, my self-pity. Leave me improved, more authentically the human being you would have me be.

I can be so small. Let me open myself to your expansiveness, and share it with my fellows. Thy will be done today.

(Letter #970)

Dear God, I am no exception.

The physical world follows a predictable path. Let go the stone, and it drops. Look east, and the sun is rising.

Lord, let my behavior follow the course you have set out for me. If I create conflict, my fellows turn against me. If I judge, I am open to judgment.

You call me to spread light and love, to care for others in greater measure than myself. This is a difficult task. Yet shall I deny you? Neither do the laws of nature nor the laws of spirit spare me.

My good Lord, let me pour forth light. Let me do your bidding, in every small thing.

Let me remember — let me learn anew, moment by moment — that I am not exempt from your requirements, nor am I to be excepted from your love. You shine on me as all others. Let me hold my face to the sun.

Thy will be done today.

(Letter #969)

Dear God, you have made the world, and this includes all beings that dwell within it. I am among them, a creature formed of your will. I am yours.

Why then, sometimes, do I despise my inner workings, regret my actions, bewail my intent? I accept the weather, as it is delivered by you and is beyond my control. Let me accept myself and my flawed nature as equally of your making.

Lord, you have set for me the task of inhabiting this body, this mind, and fashioning the best person I am able to be.

Let me, Lord, see this selfhood as a divine gift. You animate me and give me choice. Let me choose freedom by surpassing body and emotion. These things are part of the conditions of my world, delivered by you, but you also call me to dwell apart from them, with you. Let me dwell with you. Let me seek you.

(Letter #968)

Dear God, let me love all those around me today.

Let me walk erect, carefully and calmly placing my feet on the path you set for me. Let me be kindly in all interactions, looking everyone in the eye and recognizing their dignity. When angry, let me pause and breathe rather than speak. Let me actively look for opportunities to help others around me, in ways large and small.

Lord, let me come to the end of this day with the satisfaction of having tried my best to do as you would have me do. Let me comport myself such that, when I look back on this day, I can say that I was my higher self.

Thy will be done.

(Letter #967)

Dear God, I looked toward this day, and wonder what will befall me. What difficulties will I face? What trials will come my way? I anticipate these things with worry.

Lord, let me instead approach the day filled with the wonder of a child. Let me be eager. What do I get to do today?

You have bestowed upon me gift after gift. Why should today be different? You will not abandon your child. Let me walk through this day secure in your love and favor.

Let me act with gratitude for all these gifts that fill my days.

(Letter #966)

Dear God, let me be useful and responsible today. Let me walk with purpose. Let me fulfill my obligations. When something arises that needs attention, let me address it and not look away.

Let my every act be dedicated to you, that I may devote the care and attention to my movements that reflects their divine gravity. Every moment is delivered by you; let me appreciate even the most trivial of events.

My every task is at your direction and so none deserves anything less than my entire devotion. Let me be fully mindful, moment to moment to moment. Let me intently pursue your will today.

(Letter #965)