O Lord our God, we pray that we may not be of those who think they see and are blinded by the light. Help us all to fix our faith and our hope on that Son of God, and to be His in very deed and truth, not only in word but in our inmost lives, in the depths of our hearts, in the foundations of our thinking, and in all the energies of our activity. We come to Thee with humble thanksgiving that Thou dost permit us thus to gather ourselves together, and together to receive from Thee, as we trust, some impulses that may help us on our journey. Thou knowest each of us here before Thee, and all our present want; and we pray that every one of us may wish for, and may get from God, the things that we most require. Thou hast often seen our foolish desires; some of them Thou hast granted, and some of them Thou hast withheld. We thank Thee that there are desires which are sure to be granted, and we pray that we may increasingly long for the things which Thou dost long to give, and confine our seeking to those gifts which we shall be sure to find. We thank Thee that there is one region in which Thou canst do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think, and will do it. O Lord, help us to wish most for what is best, and to influence desire and hope, as well as faith and trust, and submission, and obedience, that Thou hast Thyself manifested and brought to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Alexander Maclaren, Pulpit Prayers