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A great one for those praying for someone in the home.

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Everyone can live without sex. No one can live without intimacy.

- quoted by user ‘HopefulPath8104’ at https://www.reddit.com/r/Reformed/comments/1t3o64c/comment/ok4vc3t/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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1 Make me a captive, Lord,

And then I shall be free.

Force me to render up my sword

And I shall conqueror be.

I sink in life's alarms

When by myself I stand;

Imprison me within thine arms,

And strong shall be my hand.

2 My heart is weak and poor

Until it master find;

It has no spring of action sure,

It varies with the wind.

It cannot freely move

Till thou hast wrought its chain;

Enslave it with thy matchless love,

And deathless it shall reign.

3 My will is not my own

Till thou hast made it thine;

If it would reach a monarch's throne,

It must its crown resign.

It only stands unbent

Amid the clashing strife

When on thy bosom it has leant,

And found in thee its life.

- George Matheson, 1890

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“there are problems which confront man but which can never confront machines, and that man therefore comes to know things no machine can ever come to know.”

- Joseph Weizenbaum, creator of a psychiatrist-like chatbot around 1966, as quoted in Front Porch Republic (https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2025/09/when-humans-prefer-a-machine-warnings-from-a-1960s-chatbot-creator/)

When Humans Prefer a Machine: Warnings from a 1960s Chatbot Creator

Chatbots aren’t new. Joseph Weizenbaum created one in 1966. And what happened next led him to become a vocal critic of his own creation. Wha

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1 Jesus, where'er your people meet,

there they behold your mercy seat;

where'er they seek you, you are found,

and ev'ry place is hallowed ground.

2 For you, within no walls confined,

are dwelling in the humble mind;

such ever bring you where they come,

and going, take you to their home.

3 Dear Shepherd of your chosen few,

your former mercies here renew;

here to our waiting hearts proclaim

the sweetness of your saving name.

4 Here may we prove the pow'r of pray'r

to strengthen faith and sweeten care,

to teach our faint desires to rise,

and bring all heav'n before our eyes.

5 Lord, we are few, but you are near;

nor short your arm, nor deaf your ear;

O rend the heav'ns, come quickly down,

and make a thousand hearts your own.

- William Cowper, 1769

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O Thou by whom we come to God,

the Life, the Truth, the Way,

the path of prayer thyself hast trod:

Lord, teach us how to pray!

- James Montgomery 1771-1854

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"Remember that the greatest hindrance to discipleship is not in what we lack but in what we have. The more we have, the more we hold on to; the harder it is for us to follow Jesus.

Letting go is not easy. We are afraid to let go because we think of it as losing rather than gaining.

The rich young ruler could not let go of his wealth because he thought of it as a loss.

But Jesus did not just say, “Go and sell.” He also said, “Come and follow.” Jesus was not asking him to give up something for nothing; Jesus was asking him to give up something for something better.

God asks for all of us, but he is no one’s debtor. He always gives back more. The reason why God demands full surrender and total commitment is that He Himself is totally committed to us.

Until we give ourselves completely to him, we will never see the blessing of full surrender." (emphasis mine)

-- Rev Dr David Wong, from LoveSingapore 2025. So beautifully put.

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"But O what gentle terms, What condescending ways, Doth our Redeemer use To teach his heav'nly grace! Mine eyes with joy and wonder see What forms of love he bears for me."

-- From the hymn "Join all the glorious names" by Isaac Watts

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“There are depths of love that I cannot know

Till I cross the narrow sea;

There are heights of joy that I may not reach

Till I rest in peace with Thee.”

- Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915) “I am Thine, O Lord”

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1. ‘Forgive our sins as we forgive’,

you taught us, Lord, to pray;

but you alone can grant us grace

to live the words we say.

2. How can your pardon reach and bless

the unforgiving heart

that broods on wrongs and will not let

old bitterness depart?

3. In blazing light your cross reveals

the truth we dimly know:

what trivial debts are owed to us,

how great our debt to you!

4. Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls

and bid resentment cease;

then, bound to all in bonds of love,

our lives will spread your peace.

-Rosamond Herklots (1905-1987, written June 1966) (Source: https://music.churchofscotland.org.uk/hymn/486-forgive-our-sins-as-we-forgive)

The Church of Scotland seeks to inspire the people of Scotland and beyond with the Good News of Jesus Christ through worshiping and serving

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Finding Sobriety—and Jesus—in Vietnam’s Christian Drug Rehabs - Christianity Today

The country’s church-run addiction centers are so effective that communist officials are taking notice.

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1 On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry

announces that the Lord is nigh.

Awake and harken, for he brings

glad tidings of the King of kings!

2 Then cleansed be every life from sin:

make straight the way for God within,

and let us all our hearts prepare

for Christ to come and enter there.

5 All praise to you, eternal Son,

whose advent has our freedom won,

whom with the Father we adore,

and Holy Spirit, evermore.

- Charles Coffin, translated by John Chandler

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1 Light of the minds that know him,

may Christ be light to mine!

my sun in risen splendour,

my light of truth divine;

my guide in doubt and darkness,

my true and living way,

my clear light ever shining,

my dawn of heaven's day.

2 Life of the souls that love him,

may Christ be ours indeed!

the living bread from heaven

on whom our spirits feed;

who died for love of sinners

to bear our guilty load,

and make of life's brief journey

a new Emmaus road.

3 Strength of the wills that serve him,

may Christ be strength to me,

who stilled the storm and tempest,

who calmed the tossing sea;

his Spirit's power to move me,

his will to master mine,

his cross to carry daily

and conquer in his sign.

4 May it be ours to know him

that we may truly love,

and loving, fully serve him

as serve the saints above;

till in that home of glory

with fadeless splendour bright,

we serve in perfect freedom

our strength, our life, our light.

- Augustine (354-430), adapted by Timothy Dudley-Smith (1926-12 Aug 2024)

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For the healing of the nations,

Lord, we pray with one accord;

for a just and equal sharing

of the things that earth affords.

To a life of love in action

help us rise and pledge our word.

Lead your people into freedom,

from despair your world release,

that, redeemed from war and hatred,

all may come and go in peace.

Show us how, through care and goodness,

fear will die and hope increase.

All that kills abundant living,

let it from the earth be banned:

pride of status, race or schooling,

dogmas that obscure your plan.

In our common quest for justice

may we hallow life's brief span.

You, Creator-God, have written

your great name on humankind;

for our growing in your likeness,

bring the life of Christ to mind;

that by our response and service

earth its destiny may find.

- Fred Kaan (sung as today’s closing hymn)

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- C. S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory”

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"And so it is with love.

 For when we love,
 Simply love,
 Even as we are loved,
 Our weary world can be transformed
Into the Kingdom of God"

- Charles Anthony Silvestri, music by Elaine Hagenberg, performed by Laudate Mennonite Ensemble (link above)