Morning Prayer of Devotion
My Utmost Affections Upon You, O God
I recognize Father that apart from abiding in your Son, I can do nothing (John 15:5). This is not a statement of self-deprecation but of understanding, by your Spirit, that I get my very identity from Christ.
For it was you Father that elected and predestined me for adoption before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:5-6)
It was you Jesus that gave me new life, salvation, and forgiveness through your death and resurrection - so that in your becoming of sin I might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)
It was you Holy Spirit that has given me the ability to see both my sin and my Savior rightly - guaranteeing and sealing my inheritance in Christ that is set before me. (Ephesians 1:14)
The only thing I bring to you, O God, is my sin and my inability to bring true and new life upon myself. For as your Word states, I am dead in my trespasses apart from your rich mercy and steadfast love (Ephesians 2:1, 4). I was in the domain of darkness until you rescued and transferred me into the kingdom of your Son (Colossians 1:13). I reside, now, in His kingdom where I have redemption and forgiveness of sins. This is a gift I am so unworthy of, but yet you have chosen me to be a partaker in your immeasurable love and grace. Help me to bow in awe and reverence that you, O God, would ever bestow upon me such a gift.
Out of these truths, Lord, help me not to do as is my tendency; which is to look more to the good or earthly things around me than I look to You. As my eyes gaze upon either what is bountiful or little, help my heart's affections to be set upon You. For it is in You that I have hope, salvation, and inexpressible joy as I rejoice at the obtaining of my faith and salvation of my soul through Christ. (1 Peter 1:9)
My Lord, You are sovereign over all. So, when I am in a season of much, may I gaze upon the Giver. When I am in a season of little, may I by your Spirit, gaze upon You who brings me comfort. In all I do, keep my so often wandering eyes upon You who:
1. Chose me before I was born for adoption and reconciliation to you
2. Sacrificed and died in my place, bearing the immeasurable weight of my wretched sins.
3. Gave me eyes to see my sin and Savior rightly, guaranteeing my salvation in Christ
All that I have and the new life I now live I recognize is only as a result of your rich mercy and steadfast love for me, a mere sinner. Help me O Lord, to serve and love others in the way Christ has served and loved me; to consider them as more than myself, to care for their interests more than my own - not so that I may be glorified but so that Christ may be glorified in me.
" Wean my affections from things below, and let them be eager and fixed upon heaven and heavenly things" - The Meditations of St. Augustine
We bring these things to you Father in the name of your Beloved Son, Jesus.
Amen.
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