Scripture: And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; indeed his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. – Luke 1:46-53
When I search for words to praise God, I think not of the words of kings or prophets or patriarchs, but of these words spoken by an unwed pregnant teenage girl found in the first chapter of Luke.
I am grateful these days as we finish work on construction of the new Neighborhood
Center for Neighbors in Action. I praise God for the opportunities we will have to show the strength of God’s arms to lift up the lowly and fill the hungry with good things in the Port Houston neighborhood.
As we close the Year of Prayer and Discernment Daily Prayer Guides, please find a prayer from John Wesley, to help us prepare for the work ahead:
John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you, Praised for you or criticized for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service. And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, You are mine, and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, Let it also be made in heaven. Amen. – Don Macune