Richard Of Chichester’s Prayer
Richard died in 1253 in England. His life is not well known in modern times but a prayer he wrote is often quoted even in our present age. It has a wonderful sentiment and an even more wonderful lesson. I quote the prayer below.
“Thanks be to thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which thou has given us; for all the pains and insults which thou has borne for us. O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, may we know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly; for thine own sake, day by day.”
Point One: Know Jesus more clearly.
Point Two: Love Jesus more dearly.
Point Three: Follow Jesus more nearly.
God calls us to a close relationship with Him through His Son. Many have chosen to know about Jesus but never know Him personally. Knowing about Jesus is important but to clearly know Him is life. A close relationship with Jesus is essential to living a life as His child. Kenneth Boa wrote, (Conformed to His Image) “The more we are impressed by him, the less we will be impressed by people, power, and things.”
The more time we spend with someone the better our chances of loving that person grow. To love Jesus more dearly we must spend time with Him. Love is a practiced emotion and so we must practice loving. The more we learn to love the more we can love; Jesus, friends, enemies. We do this by interacting with others, serving others, thinking about others. Reading the scriptures, living the scriptures and praying the scriptures gives us a love more dear. Living beneath His love, understanding what it means that He loves us will help us grow in our love for Him. Jesus never fails. He is always good to us.
Following Jesus is to follow His example and His words. The more we obey the more we can trust Him and thus the nearer we can follow Him. Being a disciple of Jesus means to walk behind Him, carrying our cross as He carried His. Every time we do His will we draw closer. In the same way when we fail to do His will we fall back. Paul wrote to the Ephesians that he was pressing on towards Jesus. Paul wanted to bring his complete life under the control of Jesus. It should be our goal as well.
Task for Today: Set out today to know Jesus as you never have before. Grow in your love for Him as you obey His commands and seek His will. Follow Jesus as close as you can. Every day you should see Jesus’ back.
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