Dear God, let me think less of myself. I am consumed with thoughts of status. I crave recognition, praise, acclaim. I scheme about how to present myself in the best light, how to manipulate circumstances so those in authority view me positively.

Lord, take away this self-seeking. Let me view myself as a quiet servant. Let me seek anonymity. Let me discipline my pride and ego – let me please have some small measure of humility. Let me honestly triy to efface self. Let me honestly try to seek and do your will.

(Letter #1045)

Dear God, I worry overmuch. It gets in the way of my ability to be your servant. I am thinking too often and too much about my own woes. How, Lord, can I abandon myself to you?

How can I leave this self-centered fear behind, a heap of discarded, restrictive clothing?

Let me be new. Reborn as your joyous servant. Let me be eager today, to do your will at every turn.

(Letter 1044)

Dear God, let me direct my efforts outward toward others. Let me examine every situation in which I find myself, looking for ways to serve those around me.

Small waves of fear lap at me. I am frightened of what may happen, that I may not be adequate to the circumstances around me. As quickly as it comes, this feeling is replaced by resolve that I can and will master all challenges. Lord, let me recognize both of these poles as false extremes. I have no powers that allow me to conquer, nor are there any special forces arrayed against me.

You call me, instead, to be a simple servant.

Let me be a neutral steward, not concerned with trivial interactions but instead with enacting your will. A custodian. Let me see the things that you ask me to maintain, to repair, to clean up, to prune. Let me work quietly, even amidst chaos.

(Letter #1043)

Dear God, just as I am learning to accept conditions around me as your will, so, too, let me learn to accept my own inner life.

The fear, anger, and resentment that I wish to root out is delivered by you for your own reasons. Maybe it is so that I have experienced such emotions and thus have greater empathy. Maybe it is to teach me to act rightly even when my attitude is poor. Or, perhaps, I must experience low spots in order to appreciate times when my inner life is calm and positive.

Lord, let me accept your will for me both in the external conditions I encounter and the inner vexations I experience. Even when fearful, let me be grateful for the opportunity to do your will in the world. Even when resentful, let me wish your sunshine upon others. Even when selfish, let me place others’ well-being and happiness before my own.

God, fill me. Let me try my best to do your will today.

(Letter #1042)

Dear God, when I pray, I do not do so to bring you near to me, but the reverse. I am seeking you. This seeking draws me nearer to you. Today, as I feel fear, as I so often do, let me pray. Let me approach you.

God, I am so weak, inadequate to the day. Let me place it in your hands. Let me attend to my one task: that of seeking and doing your will. In all things, let this be my intent. Let this single-minded effort crowd out fear.

I am so small. Hold my hand, O Lord.

(Letter #1041)

Dear God, turn my every circumstance into something useful. Let every happening be a demonstration to those around me – of your love, of your power, of your way of life. When conditions are positive, your love is obvious. When events overwhelm, your power, too, is clear. In such cases it is your way of life that I most need to embody.

Your way of life: Helping others. Diminishing self. Accepting your will. Seeking your instructions. Lord, let me live this way today. Let me not seek my own selfish ends.

Let me be cheerful in pursuit of your will. This way of living is a gift, for it allows an untroubled soul even under difficult conditions. Let my attitude be untroubled today.

(Letter#1040)

Dear God, let me slowly walk, aware at every step of your presence. It is not that you are near to me or far, changeably: it is a matter of my awareness that you are present at all times. The more agitated my internal state, the farther away you seem from me. But in truth it is I who is far, distracted by my self-absorbed fretfulness.

Lord, sweet Lord, let me slow down. Let me take all the time in the world as I move, task by task, through this world. Let me focus my awareness, with each movement, on the fact of your underlying love. This great fact.

God, let me thank you for this slowly building, inexorable joy.

(Letter #1039)

Dear God, correct my thoughts. Direct them. Let me desire your will above all.

I go through my day striving for such trivial accomplishments: advancement at work, regard of my fellows. Let me seek after something worthwhile, dear Lord.

Let me seek to help others, to do your will, to demolish selfish desires. Grab me, pull me by the nose toward your will, away from my defective and puny aims.

Let me eagerly submit to your guidance. Let me be glad to be your humble servant. Let my accomplishment be my meekness and service to my fellows. Thy will be done.

(Letter #1038)

Dear God, let me not withhold my efforts today, saving for some imagined tomorrow. You have so constructed me that I only act in the current moment. Tomorrow is a fiction – for me to save my energies for it is similarly a fantasy.

You place before me here, now, opportunities to serve you through serving my fellows.

Let me end of the day spent, exhausted with my efforts. You will replenish me and make me adequate to my tomorrow when it comes.

Do I have faith, O Lord, to live this day as though it were my only? Let me meet this test.

(Letter #1037)

Dear God, today, let me attend to the craft of living rightly. Let me view every moment of this day as a building block, one small component that adds, along with its brethren, to a unified whole.

Each moment can be lived attentively, mindfully – or carelessly and with distraction. Let me be deliberate in each one. Let me move slowly and think calmly. Let me bring an attitude of care to each thought.

Let me build this day, piece by piece, as a work of devotion, a gift to my fellows – as you have bestowed gifts upon me.

Let me be a source of joy today, passing it on from you. Let this joy start with gratitude.

Thank you.

(Letter #1036)