O Christ Who made Himself the Servant of all, I set my heart and my affections upon You—and upon You alone—for I can only serve others rightly when such service is undertaken from first to last as an act of devotion offered to You.

In serving You, I am freed from my need for the praise of others. So that even if my kindnesses are shed from scarred hearts as rain from a sloped tin roof, my joy will not be dimmed for I know that You receive and remember each act of sacrifice, and reckon it as a love rendered to You.

So let my love be sincere and my service be fearless, O Lord.

May I serve in imitation of You, Who poured out Your life for me. May I serve knowing that Your Spirit is ever at work in the lives of those I serve, ever calling, ever drawing, ever seeking to soften hearts encased in fear and disappointment and anger and idolatry. Let my kindness and sacrifice fall like warm shafts of sunlight on icy ground.

I cannot know the end of another person’s story. Our lives so often only briefly intersect. So, wherever I find myself today, let me be content to minister and serve regardless of visible outcomes, trusting that the small mercies I extend will be woven into the larger theme of redemption at work in the lives of others as You woo them to Yourself, drawing their hearts by graces offered, and shaping my own heart too, in this process of learning to serve well, and by learning to serve well, learning to love well.

Amen.

* Adapted from “A Prayer for Serving Others,” in Every Moment Holy: Volume 1