Staying Faithful

Grant, O God,

That we may never lose the way through our self-will,

and so end up in the far countries of the soul;

That we may never abandon the struggle,

but that we may endure to the end, and so be saved;

That we may never drop out of the race,

but that we may press forward to the goal of our high calling;

That we may never choose the cheap and passing things,

and let go of the precious things that last for ever;

That we may never take the easy way,

and so leave the right way;

That we may never forget that sweat is the price of all things,

and that without the cross,

there cannot be the crown.

So keep us and strengthen us by your grace that no disobedience and no weakness and no failure may stop us from entering into the blessedness which awaits those who are faithful in all the changes and all the chances of life down even to the gates of death; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

~ From Prayers for the Christian Year by William Barclay