An Attitude Prayer

Something that has helped me tremendously over the last few weeks is something I've called "An Attitude Prayer." On September 16th a devotional tool by Charlie Dyer of Dallas Theological Seminary was put in the "Vault" of the Cybershelter web site so that everyone could use it. Click on the title below to go to it and then use your "Back" button on your browser to return here.

"I CHOOSE" by Charlie Dyer

Well, after I started to read it on a regular basis for my morning devotions, I thought I should personalize it more by making it into a prayer that I pray for the proper attitude for the day. I also broke it up into "verses" just recently so that I can begin to memorize it along with the Scripture that I am memorizing every day. This may sound a bit much for some but I learn best when I memorize things.

There are obviously many ways that each one of us could personalize this so that it would help us with our attitude for the day. So try printing out the original and then change the words to make it personally your own. Then try reading it out loud as a prayer during your quiet time with the Lord. Then share back with us some of the blessings that have happened after you have begun doing this. And why share your blessings with us? Take a look at a 1 Peter 3:8-12 (especially verse 9) for one example of the reason why J

Here is the way that I personalized it:

1. Heavenly Father, it's quiet. It's early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun.
2. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of the solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.
3. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now that I must make a choice. And so I choose Your way Lord:
4. Lord, I CHOOSE LOVE... No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love You and what You love.
5. Lord, I CHOOSE JOY... I will invite You to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical...the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by You. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see You.
6. Lord, I CHOOSE PEACE... I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
7. Lord, I CHOOSE PATIENCE... I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Rather than complaining that the wait is too long, I will thank You for a moment to pray or to meditate on Scripture. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
8. Lord, I CHOOSE KINDNESS... I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone, kind to the rich, for they are afraid, and kind to the unkind, for such is how You have treated me.
9. Lord, I CHOOSE GOODNESS... I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will see the good in others when it is hard to find. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
10. Lord, I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS... Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.
11. Lord, I CHOOSE GENTLENESS... Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
12. Lord, I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL... I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot or spoil rule the eternal. I choose self-control.
13. LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL... These are the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23 which was written by Your servant Paul.
14. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek Your face. And then when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.
15. For I know that You Lord are the author and finisher of this Fruit in my life and it is in Thee alone that I trust, oh Lord my Strength and my Redeemer. In Jesus Name. Amen.