A Prayer for the First of July

Father, a new month begins today, and we bring it to you before we have filled it with anything. Teach us to forget what is behind, not by pretending it did not happen, but by leaving it with you, the failures and the successes both. Let neither one slow us down.

Set our eyes on what is ahead. Give us the runner's lean, the strain toward the goal, the prize of your upward call in Christ Jesus. When we grow tired in the heat of summer, remind us that our citizenship is in heaven and that a Savior is coming from there.

Keep us from becoming enemies of the cross, from letting appetite become loyalty or shame become glory. Give us examples to follow and make us examples worth following. And on every day of this month, help us to stand firm in you. Amen.