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MEDITATION:

Written by James Allen (1864-1912), a British philosophical writer. This is an excerpt from his book “As a Man Thinketh.”

And you, too, youthful reader, will realize the vision (not the idle wish) of your heart, be it base or beautiful, or a mixture of both, for you will always gravitate toward that which you, secretly, most love. Into your hands will be placed the exact results of your own thoughts; you will receive that which you earn; no more, no less. Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts, your vision, your ideal. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration…

In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result. Chance is not. “Gifts,” powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized.

The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart—this you will build your life by, this you will become.

PRAYER:

Written by Alfred the Great (871-886), King of the Anglo-Saxons.

Lord God Almighty,

shaper and ruler of all creatures,

we pray for your great mercy,

that you guide us towards you,

for we cannot find our way.

And guide us to your will, to the need of our soul,

for we cannot do it ourselves.

And make our mind steadfast in your will

and aware of our soul’s need.

Strengthen us against the temptations of the devil,

and remove from us all lust and every unrighteousness,

and shield us against our foes, seen and unseen.

Teach us to do your will,

that we may inwardly love you before all things with a pure mind.

For you are our maker and our redeemer,

our help, our comfort, our trust, our hope;

praise and glory be to you now and forever. Amen.