My eager soul rattles against the bars of my prison, Lord. Your truth is the key to freedom. May I not be afraid to turn the lock. Your presence fills me with unmatched joy. Your bloody footprints reveal the path of life. Promised a place among Your chosen, my heart rejoices in the end that is a beginning. The trappings of this life are only temporary compared to the beauty that awaits in eternity. Let me consider my plight as momentary and my afflictions as nothing compared to the eternal weight of glory I have in Christ Jesus, my Lord. Grant me a noble thread with which to weave hope and love in action and word. Mingle my heart’s lyrics with songs of eternal praise. Be with me to the end. Make stronger the feeble stirrings of adoration in my soul. Excite me with promises of what is to come. Under the blessed assurance of the Word in Isaiah 35:3-4 and the authority of Christ, I come to the altar in prayer.

Strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
    “Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
    will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
    He will come and save you.”
Isaiah 35:3-4, ESV