Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord, even when I know everything about you, even when I have studied all the Scriptures with care, even when I have a great desire and willpower to work in your service, I can do nothing without the gift of your Holy Spirit. Often I realize that the clearest vision of true life, and the most sincere wish to live it, is not enough to make me a true disciple. Only when your Spirit has entered into the depth of my being can I be a real Christian, one who lives in and with and through you.

You make it clear to your friends that they should not leave Jerusalem but should "stay in the city until they are clothed with power from on high."

O Lord, I pray for the power of your Spirit. Let this power invade me and transform me into a real disciple, willing to follow you even where I would rather not go.

Amen.


Henri Nouwen
Prayers from Genesee