I’m working through some older books that we are bringing back into print via our “Concordia On Demand” program, and came across a beautiful gem of a book by Dr. Martin Franzmann titled, Pray for Joy, a collection of meditative prayers on various themes. This one particularly caught my eye today:

To Be Rid of Some Current and Popular Illusions

Rid us, O Lord, of the arrogant delusion that our age is harder to live in, harder to live through and be decent in than any age that ever was, that we are being tried as our fathers never were, that we have more excuse for our neurotic screaming, our pitiful muddling, our erorded standards, our sentimental slobbering, our pinching terror at the shadows of the future cast upon our way than any men who ever walked beneath your heaven and on Your earth.

Teach us, O Lord, by your sane and steadying Word that we stand before You as we always stood, living of Your grace and moving toward Your judgment, that the Bomb adn the terrible technological trifles of our time have not altered the great, plain, steady fact that You are Lord and have not changed the blessed time ofYour coming as a thief in the night.