Dear God,
How is it that my heart can be so filled with You that it is overflowing, 
and still, I find myself behaving badly? 
How is it that You quench my spirit with the fruits of following Your Son, 
and still I watch myself hurting my fellows with words of frustration, resistance, and pride? How can I serve You, God, when my heart, mind, and soul are so very vulnerable to the enemy of Your Word? 
I know the answer, as You have already told me, shown me, and blessed me with it a million times before – 
I need to look up to the Cross 
to see the only righteousness that will ever save me. 
Lift my eyes this day, God – 
without You I have not the strength to overcome the shame that blinds Your Truth. 
I know that Truth, that His righteousness is all and only what I need; 
and I know the enemy strives to keep it from me. 
But I know also that Your love has already overcome the enemy just for me. 
So, forgive me for asking once again for Your power to move my knowing from my mind to that cavernous hole deep down within the depth of my soul. 
For You and I both know that what I know in my mind serves only to boost my pride. 
It is my soul that needs to be filled – Your Spirit that lets me live. 
I pray all this as I kneel at the foot of His cross. 
Lift my eyes, Lord, 
lift my eyes. 
Amen.