My Father, help me as a follower of Christ to say, “Thy will be done.” Thou wouldest not have me accept Thy will because I must, but because I may. Thou wouldest have me take it, not with resignation, but with joy, not with the absence of murmur, but with the song of praise. How shall I reach this goal? I shall only reach it by feeling what the Psalmist felt–that Thy will comes from a “good Spirit,” and goes towards a “land of uprightness.” Teach me that Thy will is love; teach me that Thy love is wise. Guide me not blindfolded, but with open eyes. Grant me the power to look both behind and before–behind to “Thy good Spirit,” before to “the land of uprightness. Give me the blessedness of the man whose delight is in Thy law, who can tell of Thy statues rejoicing the heart. I shall obey Thy will in perfect freedom when I can say, “Thy Spirit is good”–Amen.

George Matheson (b. 1842)