A Wonderful Puritan Prayer

Father of mercies,
Hear me for Jesus' sake.
I am sinful even in my closest walk with thee;
it is of thy mercy I died not long ago;
Thy grace has given me faith in the cross
by which thou hast reconciled thyself to me and me to thee,
drawing me by thy great love,
reckoning me as innocent in Christ though guilty in myself.
Giver of all graces,
I look to thee for strength to maintain them in me,
for it is hard to practice what I believe,
Strengthen me against temptations,
My heart is an unexhausted fountain of sin,
              a river of corruption since childhood days,
                flowing on in every pattern of behavior; 
Thou has disarmed me of the means in which I trusted,
   and I have no strength but in thee. 
Thou alone canst hold back my evil ways,
   but without thy grace to sustain me I fall.
Satan's darts quickly inflame me,
   and the shield that should quench them 
       easily drops from my hand;
Empower me against his wiles and assaults.
Keep me sensible of my weakness,
     and of my dependence upon thy strength. 
Let every trial teach me more of thy peace,
                                     more of thy love. 
Thy Holy Spirit is given to increase thy graces,
      and I cannot preserve or improve them
           unless he works continually in me. 
May he confirm my trust in thy promised help,
      and let me walk humbly in dependence upon thee,
             for Jesus' sake. 
* The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions
Edited by Arthur Bennett 

Grace and Peace

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  (Romans 1:7 ESV) 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3 ESV)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:2 ESV)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, (Galatians 1:3 ESV)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:2 ESV)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:2 ESV)

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
                                                                                                                               (Colossians 1:2 ESV)

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. (1 Thessalonians 1:1 ESV)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:2 ESV)


To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (1 Timothy 1:2 ESV) 
To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (2 Timothy 1:2 ESV)

To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.  (Titus 1:4 ESV)


Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philemon 1:3 ESV)

... according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 
                                                                                                                                     (1 Peter 1:2)
 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
                                                                                                                                 (2 Peter 1:2 ESV) Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.  (2 John 1:3 ESV)  

In the New Testament we are told over and over again... "Grace" is the basis or our salvation, and "Peace" is the benefit...   REJOICE IN THIS TRUTH TODAY!! BECAUSE OF GOD'S GRACE WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD (Romans 5: 1) 
                                                                                 

Wonderful quote from Spurgeon

I will help you.”  Isaiah 41:10

“Let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: ‘I will help you. It is but a small thing for me, your God, to help you. Consider what I have done already. What! not help you? Why, I bought you with my blood. What! not help you? I have died for you; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help you! It is the least thing I will ever do for you. I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose you. I made the covenant for you. I laid aside my glory and became a man for you, I gave up my life for you; and if I did all this, I will surely help you now. In helping you, I am giving you what I have bought for you already. If you had need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it to you; you require little compared with what I am ready to give. ‘Tis much for you to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. Help you? Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of your granary asking for help, it would not ruin you to give him a handful of your wheat; and you are nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency. I will help you.’
O my soul, is not this enough? Do you need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Do you want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring here your empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up your needs, and bring them here – your emptiness, your woes, your needs. Behold, this river of God is full for your supply; what can you desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this your might. The Eternal God is your helper.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Style updated.