this my prayer.

Father, may I never forget my first love—You. May this academic pursuit only make You, Sovereign God, grow bigger than who I think You are, and me, smaller; You more wondrous, and me, less self-sufficient. That You must increase, and I must decrease. As my mind gets bent and stretched and my theology of You dismantled and put back together again, I will only remember that these are still the theology that man in all his efforts has woven together by that fragile thread called 'finiteness'. So that I may only cling on to no human wisdom or understanding but the infinite You, and You in me. Lord, expand my mind and its capacity, and bring out the best in me for Your glory. And as I listen and be inspired by men and women who love You, no pride seep into my understanding and discernment, but in humility pick out what I can learn—and grow from there. Keep words of complaint away; keep doubt and false humility far from me, but let Your joy, hope and love overflow from within me, and may I be a vassel/vessel to those around me, to do Your will on earth as it is in heaven. For all the gifts that You have bestowed upon me, I surrender them to Your hands—work them in me—and point its fruits back to no other but You.


Fill me, meld me, mold me, use me. Only this I pray.