I was recently inspired to muse upon a beautiful prayer that had been written by Richard of Chichester and was later adapted and used as a song in the musical, “Godspell”.
“Day by day, dear Lord, of Thee three things I pray;
to see Thee more clearly,
to love Thee more dearly,
to follow Thee more nearly, day by day.”
This leads us to three very important questions:
- How do we “see/know” God more clearly?
- How do we “love” God more dearly?
- How do we “follow” God more nearly?
I believe that the spiritual answers lie within us all. We need to remember that, whilst we are frail human beings, God through the blessings of His Holy Spirit wants, and will, dwell within each one of those who come to Him in honest repentance and accept His free gifts of salvation and redemption. We become transformed creations and seek to live our lives as pleases God.
To “see/know” God more clearly, we need to use the faculties in our heads. We need to read His Word more deeply, realising that it is the inspired Word of God; that the various writers were inspired by God. That, under God’s grace, He whispered into their ears the truths that He wanted revealed. And we, as the readers, need to look for and listen to God, as He opens up His Word to us. God knows our situation and He will reveal His blessings to us.
To “love” God more dearly, we need to use the faculties of our hearts. We need to get rid of things that distract us from God and that fill our hearts with foolish longings. God wants to be The King of our hearts, and we need to place Him there. All too often our “thank you” prayers are in response to the blessings we have received but we forget to tell God that we love Him.
We frequently express our love to our earthly partners, parents, children etc, but how much more important it is to express our love to God. The Bible tells us that whilst we were still far off, He loved us and drew us near to the Throne of Grace. God is pure love and, therefore, we must worship Him with an open heart in loving humility. People ask me, “If you love God so much, how much do you love your wife?”. I reply by saying that my love for my wife is enhanced because I see the meagreness of my love for God and I want that love to grow, and as a result my love for my wife also grows.
To “follow” God more nearly, we need to use the faculties of our hands and feet. If we have learnt to “see/know” God more clearly, and learnt to “love” Him more dearly, then we will, naturally, want to “follow” Him more nearly. As our knowledge and love of God have grown, He will instruct us in the ways and paths that He wants us to travel.
Ephesians Ch 3: vs 20 & 21 states, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
I couldn’t express it any better! – Yours, in Christ, Pastor Tony Brown
Upper Studley Baptist Church 