Lord,
you tell us from heaven
that you are the first and the last.
Give us,
that we may understand this word in faith,
which you continually give us
as a declaration of love for us
and at the same time for your Father.
Grant us
to understand the meaning of your word.
Let it be the first in our day
and let it remain the first and the last
until the moment of our evening.
Take your place as the first and the last
in every thought of ours,
so that all that we ponder
may be included in your presence
and become a prayer.
By choosing such a name,
you offer yourself to us,
to become our beginning and our end.
You offer yourself,
to perform all the work in us,
to make us worthy of your promises to the Father.
Lord, shape us.
Give form to our faith,
mold our lives with your own being,
which is the beginning and the end.
Uproot in us everything that does not begin and end in you,
everything that prevents us from perfectly following you.
If you are in us the beginning and the end,
then your obedience to the Father will live in us.
Grant, Lord,
that we may offer our obedience to your will.
Bestow on us every day anew the strength
to accept you as the first and the last in our lives.
As the Father owns you in the Holy Spirit
as his first and last Son,
so allow us,
to learn from your Father,
from you and from your Spirit
to have in you continuously our beginning and our end.
Amen.
(Adrienne von Speyr /1902–1967/,
Bei Gott und bei den Menschen. Gebete,
translated by Robert Svatoň)
