January 2019

To Follow Thee More Nearly

As I shared in an earlier blog, my prayer for 2019 is expressed simply in this song:

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.

I have tried to expound on what these three phrases mean to me in three different blogs. If you haven’t already, please read the first two parts – ‘To see Thee more clearly’ and ‘To love Thee more dearly’. The third is –

To follow You more nearly:

The only way to be a true disciple of Christ is to follow Him.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
(John 10:27 NIV)

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me…. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
(Matthew 10:38; 16:24 NIV)

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To Love Thee More Dearly

As I shared in an earlier blog, my prayer for 2019 is expressed simply in this song:

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.

I will try to expound on what these three phrases mean to me in three different blogs. The first, ‘To see Thee more clearly’ can be read here. The second is –

To love Thee more dearly:

The picture a lot of us have of God does not allow for a love relationship with Him. We can’t imagine God desiring love from us even if we are able to accept that He loves us. It’s easier for us to think that all He wants from us is obedience to His many rules. Yet even the Old Testament shows God’s heart towards mankind and His desire for His love for us to be reciprocated. All the over Deuteronomy, you find verses similar to these ones:

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To See Thee More Clearly

As I shared in an earlier blog, my prayer for 2019 is expressed simply in this song:

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.

I will try to expound on what these three phrases mean to me in three different blogs. The first is –

To see Thee more clearly:

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My prayer for 2019

It’s a brand new year – 2019.

I find that my heartfelt prayer for this year is summarized by a song adapted from a prayer of St. Richard of Chicester. His prayer went thus:

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits thou hast given me,
for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly, day by day.
Amen.

Some of the words of this prayer were adapted for the song ‘Day by Day’ which words form my prayer for 2019: Read more →