From the January/February 2009 issue of The Southern Cross:

Perhaps most of us use the Book of Common Prayer only when we assemble in our congregation for corporate worship. That usage is, of course, helpful in our lives of sanctification, but we will miss so much by not utilizing the Prayer Book for daily enrichment.

There is one particular prayer that I find moving, focusing and beneficial. It is a prayer composed by the Rev. Dr. Theodore Parker Ferris. Dr. Ferris was an instructor in homiletics at the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Cambridge, Mass. and the 14th rector of Trinity Church, Boston from 1942–1972. His prayer is in the section of the BCP “Ministration to the Sick” titled “In the Morning.”

This is the prayer:

This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.

I love the solace and the challenge of these words. The solace is received in the recognition that one is completely dependant on Our Lord in every situation in life. The challenge is, of course, discovered in that same recognition.

I would recommend moving this prayer from the “Ministration to the Sick” section to “Daily Devotions.” This prayer keenly speaks the truth about daily existence.

None of us ever knows what any given day will bring forth. Each of us should claim for our thinking the humility that comes with not knowing. We do not know if any day will bring upon us the smiles of success or the fragility of health.

The Letter of James puts it this way: “Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes we will live and do this or that’ “ (James 4:14-15).

This prayer states a theological corrective to excessive confidence in one’s daily reality. Our confidence is to be in Our Lord. This is a new year. Each of us hopes and plans for a good year. We yearn for all of our dreams and activities to unfold just the way we desire. But life happens. I say this not to say frightening words but spiritually realistic words. This is a new year in which we can intentionally walk with Jesus in both the things we know and in the dimensions of life we do not yet know.

I invite you own and use a Book of Common Prayer. I invite you to pray this prayer daily so as to build up your spiritual strength and confidence. I hope we all have healthy and wonderful days. More importantly, though, I pray we all have the Spirit of Jesus in whatever days we do have.