Jabez called upon

the God of Israel, saying,

"O that You would bless me

     and enlarge my border,

and that Your hand

      might be with me,

and that You would

      keep me from harm,

so that it might not

           bring me pain."

              1 Chronicles 4. 10

(Do we even ask God

for His blessing,

His favor as a shield,

His hand upon us?

God always answers

    in some unexpected way,

not just for our comfort

or our convenience

or our great idea,

       but for His glory in this.

More often than not,

it never occurs to us

   to bring it before God.)

O LORD,

We come before You

     early in the morning

not to lay out

        our day before You,

but that You would

    lay out before us

    Your day for us,

everything in it

    dripping with Your purposes.

Align our hearts,

tweak our vision,

strengthen our souls

that we would

        bring You glory.

Even in this ordinary day,

even in this

         impossible task,

that we would recognize

    Your hand over us,

Your favor as a shield.