John Baille's A Diary of Private Prayer

​Here are some blessings from John Baille’s A Diary of Private Prayer (1949), which I read every morning and evening, from the very book my mom read every morning and evening. I can still picture her sitting in bed quietly praying the words out loud. The style is dated, the message is eternal.
 
Now unto Thee, O heavenly Father, be all praise and glory that day by day Thou doest richly fill my life with various blessings:
 
A home to share, kindred to love, and friends to cherish:
A place to fill and a work to do:
A green world to live in, blue skies above me, and pure air to breathe:
Healthy exercise and simple pleasure:
Good books to read and many arts and crafts to delight in:
So much that is worth knowing and the skill and science to know it:
Those high thoughts that sometimes fill my mind and come I know not
     whence:
Many happy days, and that inward calm that Thou givest me in days of
     gloom:
Thy peace, passing understanding, that comes from Thine indwelling in my
     soul:
The faith that looks through death and the hope of a larger life beyond the
     grave.
 
Make home sweeter and friends dearer:
Turning sorrow into gladness and pain into the soul’s victory:
Robbing death of its sting:
Robbing sin of its power:
Making peace more peaceful and joy more joyful and faith and hope more
     secure. Amen

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