Prayer For Open Hands

O my Father in Heaven, open my hands.
May I hold them outstretched before Thee.
May I receive all that comes down from Thee,
Whether gift or cross, trial or blessing.

My cares and burdens I lift open-handed before Thee,
Along with every gift I have received;
That Thou might relieve me of my troubles,
Or even take back what Thou hast given,
According to Thy great wisdom and mercy.

O God, may I not close my fingers, resisting Thy will;
Whether in fear to grasp what good I have,
Or in despair to clutch what ills;
Lest, having closed hands, I receive not Thy blessings,
And accept not Thy relief.

May I not fear to receive from Thee a cross.
May I not fear that thou shouldst take from me
That which thou hast given, in Thy grace,
Above and beyond my need.
For from Thee come all good gifts,
And to Thee they must return;

For Thou givest, and Thou takest away.
Blessed be Thy name!
Amen.

Universal Joy

The other day I watched a video by Fr. Robert Barron on evangelism. Now I've never been real great at evangelism. Something about standing on a street corner passing out tracts has always made me a little nervous, and the thought of going door to door or walking up to a stranger and saying “Hey! Do you know Jesus?” makes me downright queasy. I say if you're comfortable with that, then godspeed you, but it's really not my style.

But I've been told in recent years that there may be other ways of doing it, and that thought has given me some comfort. Just cause I don't stand on street corners doesn't mean I'm a bad Christian – at the very least I could give money to missionaries (Now, how do I calculate 10% of the 74 cents in my bank account? Round up or down...?) I have things that I'm good at, and God has given me those talents for a reason... but how do I turn that towards evangelism? What I could really use (and, I think, what most Christians could really use) is a universal method of evangelism, to which I can apply my own personal interests and talents.