timidity; from hesitation; from fear
of men and dread of responsibility,
strengthen us with courage to speak the
truth in love and self-control;
and alike from the weakness of hasty
violence and weakness of moral cowardice,
Save Us and Help Us, We humbly Beseech Thee, O Lord.
From weakness of judgement; from
the indecision that can make no
choice; from the irresolution that
carries no choice into act; and from
losing opportunities to serve thee,
Save Us and Help Us, We humbly Beseech Thee, O Lord.
-The Southwell Litany for the Personal Life
I love this because it is my heart's cry. It speaks of our tendency to shy away from what God has called us to do, even when we know and have acknowledged those very things. As I walk with Christ - keeping pace, falling behind, speeding ahead, and wandering away - I often know what would be most pleasing to God. But because of my own pride, selfishness, and idolatry, I decide to do my own thing and go my own way.
We must pray that the Lord empowers us to make the right decisions, to carry our good intentions out. The thing is that we cannot even follow through on our word without the Holy Spirit. Every good thing comes from God. As I write this, I'm reminded of the verse in Galatians that challenges Christians to not presume to think we only need to God to save us, but not to complete his saving work in us, i.e. sanctification (Galatians 3:1-3).
So hear it in your heart. Sing it through your soul. "Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord."
It's amazing how I read this litany and post a year later and am struck by the constancy and eternal relevance of God's word. He continues to teach me the same thing - that I need Him, and Him alone, in ever-increasing amounts. Only through God's grace and the work of the Holy Spirit can I be made to love Him and desire Him this way. He must continually save us and help us.
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