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For usefulness.
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Father in heaven,
help me at all times to rule myself so that, controlled and clean, I may give myself unto Thee; |
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teach me to look upon Thee alone,
and not my friends, as my judge in all things, so that I may not blindly follow the multitude. |
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Give unto me, I beseech Thee,
the strength that cannot by word nor thought harm the weak, and the power to be a comfort and a joy to others. |
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Teach me freely
to forgive all evil done, and to give unto all men a gentle love. |
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May I find my delight in simple things
and may my joys and laughter be free from all bitterness, either of thought or intention. |
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Thus, O Lord, may I prepare myself
to sacrifice my life in Thy service. By opening my heart and my soul only to that which is pure and righteous, by doing every thing in my power to make some life a little happier for my presence, and by conquering some fault or failing of my own, may I day by day draw closer unto Thee. Amen. |
Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For Usefulness” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, page 95.
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