A Prayer of Howard Thurman
“Lord, make me an instru­ment of Thy Peace.” Teach me how to order my days that with sure touch I may say the right word at the right time and in the right way — lest I betray the spir­it of peace. Let me not be deceived by my own inse­cu­ri­ty and weak­ness which would make me hurt anoth­er as I try des­per­ate­ly to help myself. Keep watch with me, O my Father, over the days of my life, that with abid­ing enthu­si­asm I may be in such pos­ses­sion of myself that each day I may offer to Thee the full, unham­pered use of me in all my parts as “an instru­ment of Thy Peace.” Amen.

From  The Inward Jour­ney: Med­i­ta­tions on the Spir­i­tu­al Quest by Howard Thur­man (Harp­er Row, 1961).