O Thou, who hast taught us to seek first Thy kingdom and its righteousness, teach me to say, “Thy will be done” before I say, “give me my daily bread.” Teach me to accept Thy will as the foundation of my happiness, and other things as only its superstructure. I am more afraid of the hunger of the body than of the hunger of the spirit. Convince me that it would not profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul. Show me that it is only the possession of my soul that makes the possession of the world any gain. Impress me with the truth that no thing can give me joy, if I myself am not already joyful. Inspire me with the knowledge that the issues of life are not from without but from within. Guide me into the discovery that the pleasures at Thy right hand are the only things that are “pleasures for evermore”—Amen.

George Matheson,