Daily Word of Grace # 242 (May 17, 2021)
A particularly powerful collect (brief, theologically loaded prayer) in The Book of Common Prayer is this one: “O God, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man’s understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee in all things and above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen” (174). This collect is rooted in God’s promises found in both the Old Testament and New Testament. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (Jeremiah 29:11)—and similarly the Apostle Paul (citing from the prophet Isaiah) put it this way: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Jesus himself, speaking about heaven, takes a personal role in God’s wonderful plans for you: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). We have the hope of attaining God’s promises because we are entirely dependent on the grace of God—and God always keeps his promises.
Love and Prayers,
Dave