Some folks are planning and deciding "who they're going to be" for Halloween. Whether you're planning on a costume or not each of us might benefit from a prayer I often post as All Hallows Eve draws near. Here is is in its latest edition...
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Lord,
help me not worry
about all the daily costumes
hanging in my closet
help me not worry
about all the daily costumes
hanging in my closet
and what I'm going to wear...
Clothes don't make a man
and clothes don't make a woman:
it's how my heart is dressed, Lord,
that makes me who I am...
Help me take off all the costumes
that hide my truest self:
pride and false humility,
authority and knowledge,
pretended self-assurance,
bravado and self-pity...
Help me take off all my masks, Lord,
the ones I wear to try to hide
from others and from you
- and even from myself...
Help me take off all my masks
and reveal my fears and tears,
my worry and anxiety,
my pain and disappointment,
my doubt and my confusion
and
my hidden faith and strength,
my human worth and value,
my belief and trust in you
and my desire to be loved
in other words
reveal the truest face
of my unmasked heart,
my soul laid bare for healing,
the person you created,
in your image, Lord, divine...
Help me find the hidden beauty
'neath the costumes and the masks,
under all the varied folderol
that everyone puts on
- beginning with myself...
And help me, Lord, most of all,
to find and love your holy face
revealed in all its beauty
in all I meet and know...
Protect us, Lord, while we're awake
and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
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Search Me, O God by Steve Green
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Search me, oh God
Reveal my heart
Expose my sin that it may be confessed
Search me, oh God
Unveil each thought
And leave no hidden motive unaddressed
Uncover every action born in pride
Show me the worldly ways I still embrace
May every anxious thought be brought to light
And each unspoken fear with faith replaced
Search me, oh God
Observe my life
Bring to my mind each idle word I speak
Search me, oh God
Test my resolve
And alert me where you find it weak
Reveal all weakened walls within my soul
Show me potential dangers unforeseen
Then clothe my conscience with your holiness
Help me to guard it well and keep it clean
Search me, oh God
That I may walk in peace
Filled with the joy of knowing all is well
My heart surrendered and my conscience clean
So great a joy my tongue can scarcely tell
Oh, what a joy to know that all is well
Reveal my heart
Expose my sin that it may be confessed
Search me, oh God
Unveil each thought
And leave no hidden motive unaddressed
Uncover every action born in pride
Show me the worldly ways I still embrace
May every anxious thought be brought to light
And each unspoken fear with faith replaced
Search me, oh God
Observe my life
Bring to my mind each idle word I speak
Search me, oh God
Test my resolve
And alert me where you find it weak
Reveal all weakened walls within my soul
Show me potential dangers unforeseen
Then clothe my conscience with your holiness
Help me to guard it well and keep it clean
Search me, oh God
That I may walk in peace
Filled with the joy of knowing all is well
My heart surrendered and my conscience clean
So great a joy my tongue can scarcely tell
Oh, what a joy to know that all is well
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