A Monday Morning Prayer

O Lord, give us more charity,
     more self-denial,
     more likeness to thee.
Teach us to sacrifice our comforts to others,
     and our likings for the sake of doing good.
Make us kindly in thought, gentle in word, generous in deed.
Teach us that it is better to give than to receive;
     better to forget ourselves than to put ourselves forward;
     better to minister than to be ministered unto.
And unto thee, the God of love, be glory and praise for ever.
-Henry Alford (1810-1871)