This is a prayer taken from the book “The Birthright” by John Sheasby. Much of the book, he tells about the prodigal son who wandered away from his father and his home. But then returns.

 
Our Father, who are in heaven….
 
“How beautiful those words sound when I say them.
Our Father!
Affectionate, loving, compassionate, good.
Our Father!
You are ours, which also means you are mine!
 
Forever, you are mine. Lord, and forever I am yours.
How wonderful those words sound when I say them,
How absolutely wonderful those words sound when I say them,
How absolutely, incredibly, unbelievably wonderful!
 
Thank you for all the pictures of you
That Jesus left behind….
Pictures of your goodness,
Your kindness, your mercy.
Use those pictures, Father, to retore the faded ones,
The bent ones, the torn ones, the distorted ones,
So I might see you for who you are, know you for
Who you are,
Love you for who you are.
And use those same pictures to restore the distorted,
Pictures I have of myself,
So that I might see myself for who I am, know myself,
 
For who I am, love myself for who I am.
Which is yours
Forever and always…….yours!”
 
***