Prayer to Change

BY REV HENRY HONG

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

(The Prayer of Francis of Assisi)

How do we pray in time of pandemic so that we could be an agent of change?

A believer confessed that in his youthful enthusiasm he prayed, “Lord, give me the energy to change the world.” However, as he approached middle age he realized that half his life was gone without changing a single soul. So he changed his prayer to, “Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come in contact with me. Just my family and friends and I shall be content.” But now that he was getting old, he prayed thus, “Lord, give me the grace to change myself. If I had prayed for this right from the start I would not have wasted my life.”

A proposed prayer to change:

“More like Jesus when I pray,

More like Jesus day by day;

May I rest me by His side,

When the tranquil waters glide,

Born of Him, through grace renewed,

By His love my will subdued,

Rich in faith I still would be,

Let my Saviour dwell in me.”

(F. J. Crosby, 1867, More Like Jesus Would I Be)