Morning Mercies

Father God,

I am so thankful you meet us in the morning. I am so grateful that you renew your mercies to us each morning when we open our eyes—they are waiting for us. Stretched out and broad and oh so deep.

Your mercies extended to us BEFORE we even meet the day. Your forgiveness is offered to us before we sully the day; your grace is granted before we put our not so lovely mark on this allotted twenty-four hours.

This morning I am thankful. So thankful for this blessing. This is what I wake up to knowing. There are mornings I forget, and mornings I choose not to see. But you remain faithful. Thank you.

This morning, Father, I ask for you to create pure hearts in us. I ask for you to renew our spirits—turning and bending them toward you. I ask for you to not cast us from your presence or to remove the Holy Spirit from us today. We want the joy of your salvation restored in us today. We want the willing and obedient mind of Christ today.  

Your word says you will conform us to the image of your Son—then I pray today, Father, please shave off the hard edges and sharp corners of us. I pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to soften the crusty and callous centers of us that we might be receptive and malleable in your hands.

I pray today you would help us to surrender to this conforming and you would enable us to understand that it doesn’t cause us to be less like our individual selves, but it frees us to be more than ourselves.

Father, today shape my mind to be like Christ Jesus. In recent days my outlook has been far from his. Forgive me for fighting and for resisting. Forgive me for nursing and feeding this ugly attitude.

Jesus relinquished every right he had to do what you willed for him to do.

We are recipients of your daily grace and morning mercies because of his attitude. Because of his obedience.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Amen