I few months ago I came across a prayer of Thomas Merton and it has become one of my favourite prayers:

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following you does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen!"

What I love about this prayer is the human factor. Yes, we have the Holy Spirit within, whom leads and guides us (John 14:26), but we are still human and can only interpret the leading, guiding and prompting of God to the best of our human ability.

However, Merton beautifully articulates that through our desire to please God He will guide us down the right path.

Do we desire to please God in every area of our lives? This is the ultimate challenge and way to bring about true change in the world that we live in. When we desire to please God it changes the way we think and act. When we desire to please God we begin to live the Kingdom of God here on earth (Matthew 6:10).

So that is our current challenge, to desire to please God in every single area or our lives! May this prayer help and challenge you as much as it has helped me.

Jeremy Selfe