Day of Prayer for Maranatha

This past summer, the students, staff, and faculty at Maranatha Baptist Bible College underwent a difficult transition with the resignation of their president. Tonight, the students begin their year with a revival meeting led by Evangelist Will Galkin. I would like to encourage SI readers to spend time praying for the Maranatha family today.
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To the Maranatha family, I prayed this prayer for myself and for you today. I trust that the grace of the cross of Christ will be your focus.

The Grace of the Cross

O My Savior,

I thank thee from the depths of my being

for thy wondrous grace and love

in bearing my sin in thine own body on the tree.

May thy cross be to me

as the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs

as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty

as the brazen serpent that calls forth

the look of faith.

By thy cross crucify my every sin;

Use it to increase my intimacy with thyself;

Make it the ground of all my comfort,

the liveliness of all my duties,

the sum of all thy gospel promises,

the comfort of all thy afflictions,

the vigour of my love, thankfulness, graces,

the very essence of my religion;

And by it give me that rest without rest,

the rest of ceaseless praise.

O My Lord and Saviour,

Thou hast also appointed a cross for me

to take up and carry,

a cross before thou givest me a crown.

Thou hast appointed it to be my portion,

but self-love hates it,

carnal reason is unreconciled to it;

without the grace of patience I cannot bear it,

walk with it, profit by it.

O blessed cross, what mercies dost thou bring

with thee!

Thou art only esteemed hateful by my rebel will,

heavy because I shirk thy load.

Teach me, gracious Lord and Saviour,

that with my cross thou sendest promised grace

so that I may bear it patiently,

that my cross is thy yoke which is easy,

and thy burden is light.

(from the book The Valley of Vision; The Grace of the Cross prayer)

To our readers, feel free to leave a thought, verse, or prayer in the comment thread.

Jason Janz