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)