The Larger Prayer
At first I prayed for Light;
Could I but see the way,
How gladly, swiftly would I walk
To everlasting day!
And next I prayed for Strength:
That I might tread the road
With firm, unfaltering feet, and win
The heaven’s serene abode.
And then I asked for Faith:
Could I but trust my God,
I’d live enfolded in His peace,
Though foes were all abroad.
But now I pray for Love:
Deep love to God and man,
A living love that will not fail,
However dark His plan.
And Light and Strength and Faith
Are opening everywhere,
God waited for me till
I prayed the larger prayer.
—Ednah D. Cheney.
The Radiation Of Character
We understood
Her by her sight; her pure and eloquent blood
Spoke in her cheeks, and so distinctly wrought
That one might almost say her body thought.
—John Donne.
Thought Rules
Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force; that thoughts rule the world.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Alternate Reading: Luke 19:16-21.