God's Minute

January 22

"Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.--2 Cor. 6:17,18

OUR Father, help us to be true today; help us to be faithful; help us to be kind. May Thy presence go with us and watch over us so that no evil may surprise us. Keep us from falling, keep us from stumbling. If temptation assails us, may we be given strength to resist it; if trouble awaits us, may we go forth courageously to meet it and may Thy grace be sufficient for us in the hour of our need.

Especially we pray Thee that sin may have no dominion over us; save us from becoming hardened by its deceitfulness, or softened by its false soothing flattery.

Make us generous in our judgments, tender-hearted in our feelings, sweet spirited and loving in all our dealings. Preserve us from being impatient and irritable.

Implant within our hearts a genuine hatred for every form of defilement, and a sincere love for what is pure and Christ-like. Whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, may we think on these things today. For Christ's sake.

Amen.

Malcom James MacLeod, D.D.,
New York City, New York

God's Minute

January 21

Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory upon their children. And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us.--Psalm 90:16,17

LORD GOD, our heavenly Father, we Thy children come before Thee to thank Thee and to praise Thee. We thank Thee for the gift of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and that Thou hast kindled faith and love in our hearts through Thy Holy Spirit. We thank Thee for peace of soul through the forgiveness of our sins and for the blessed hope of eternal life. We thank Thee also for the opportunity to labor in our earthly calling and thereby to render service to Thee, to our dear ones, and to our fellowmen in general.

Bless us, heavenly Father, as individuals, that we may have the strength always to do our duty as it is made clear to us. Bless us as a nation, a Christian people, that the high hopes placed in us by peoples in distress may not be shattered. Bless Thy Church that it may have the power always to witness for Christ wherever we go, and help us gladly to share our temporal blessings with those who are in physical want. Lead us through the hours of the day, and watch over us through the night. And when Thou art done with us here on earth, take us to Thyself in glory. We ask it in the name of Jesus, our blessed Redeemer.

Amen.

Carl J. Bengston, D.D.,
Rock Island, Illinois

It's Snowing!

For to the snow He says, 'Fall on the earth.'

What is "God's Minute"?

In the comments below, Karen asked about the God's Minute prayers that I post every day.

On the first day I began posting them I explained that the prayers come from a book that my grandparents gave to me when I got married. For years they had kept in on their kitchen table and my grandfather had read from it every morning at breakfast. It sits just to the right of my computer monitor now. It means a great deal to me and since it is now out of print and in the public domain, I decided to post them up on the blog.

(If you click on the picture you can see it in more detail; click twice and you can read it!)

This little book is nearly worn out. I don't know for sure how long they had it, but I've had it since '78. As you can see from the picture, several sections have come loose. From time to time I will run across some penciled underlining. I wonder what must have been going on in my grandparents' lives to have made that particular prayer or phrase stand out on that particular day.

My grandparents left us with a wonderful example: an abiding faith in Christ and an abiding love for each other.

There are three words on their headstone: Thank you, God.

God's Minute

January 20

Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us.--Ephesians 5:2

WE thank Thee, O God our Heavenly Father, for all of life's blessings. All we have comes from Thee, and all we do is by the strength Thou dost give us. Help us to love Thee with all our heart, and serve Thee with all our strength.

We bring our family to Thee, with all its members, in whatever place or condistion they may be, for Thy gracious care. If some are sick, or troubled, or tempted, be to them a great physician, a comforting friend, a might Saviour.

Bless our daily occupations, and, if it please Thee, make our way prosperous. If adversity be better for us, make us patient and faithful in trial. Help us in all our perplexities to know Thy will, and make us ever ready to do what Thou desirest. Make us a blessing in our church, and make our church a blessing to others. May Thy Word be a light unto our path, and a lamp to guide all who are in any darkness. Bless the work of this day, fit us for its duties and responsibilities, overrule all our mistakes, and pardon all our sins. We come to Thee as children to a dear Father, asking these and other things we need, for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

S.S. Waltz, D.D.,
Louisville, Kentucky