Nehemiah 8:10 The joy of the Lord is your strength

July 12

The joy of the Lord is your strength. -- Nehemiah 8:10

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OUR Father, help us to find the secret of the Master's joy, that we may no longer dwell in the outer courts where our happiness comes and goes as the flowers bloom and fade. May we enter into the secret place of the Most High where He lived, until our joy, like His cannot be taken away from us.

Teach us the joy of discovering the tokens of Thy presence always--in the song of birds, the fragrance of flowers, the marvelous beauty of sunrise and sunset, but more in the ringing laughter and plaintive cry of little children, in the deep hunger in the hearts of our brothers and sisters, and in our own souls, so that we are never alone.

Teach us the joy of a friendship that leaves no hurt nor sting. Help us to enter into the deep joy of sympathy with our brother's need, the sympathy that gives insight, and knits heart to heart, until we are able to help where help is needed, and able to receive help when it is offered. Save us, O our Father, from the darkness of selfishness, and unite us with wise and tender love to those who need us, and those whom we need. All of this, and more which we cannot express, we ask in the Master's Name. Amen.

Rev. Raymond C. Brooks,

Berkley, California