February 16, 2016 Tuesday)
I love music that calls me up higher in my intentions and desires.
I love a song that calls me to prayer and repentance, resulting in a closer walk with the Lord.
I love songs that speak to me where I really live. Such a song is “An Evening Prayer,” written by C. Maude Battersby in 1911.
If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way,
Dear Lord, forgive.
If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain,
Lest I myself should suffer through the strain,
Dear Lord, forgive.
Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee,
Forgive the secret sins I do not see,
O guide me, love me and my keeper be,
Dear Lord, forgive.
The above verses tug at our hearts and make us want to do a better job of living the Christian life. At the close of the day, the words may express our feelings very well.
Without detracting in any way from “the evening prayer,” why not couple it with “a morning prayer,” in which we ask the Lord for wisdom and spiritual strength to avoid these sins. My
prayer might ask the Lord for guidance to withstand the temptation to do things my own way–a way that might wound others or lead them astray, a way that produces idle, vain words that bring hurt to ourselves, or a way that blinds us to the needs of others. Perhaps we should pray in the morning to do things His way, as the Holy Spirit produces in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.We can pray both prayers–morning and evening.