Prayer for Perspective

Dear Lord God,

whose will is too complex for me to comprehend–
I praise you.

“You have preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
For you tested us; you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.”

Give me the faith and courage to trust you and your will like that!–
That regardless of my circumstances and my fears,
I will believe that you are doing a mighty work unknown to me,
in and around me.
And even through me,
even when it feels like you are hurting me or persecuting me or ignoring me.
I may never understand what you are doing,
but that’s okay because you don’t answer to me,
and I am not entitled to know the ends of your plans for this world in which I live.

“I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you.
Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me.”

Your love is enough.
Your will is enough.
I will praise you.

Amen.

(Psalm 66)