Dear Heavenly Father,

I come before you firstly in humility and in brokenness and admitting my need for your forgiveness. Thank you Lord that I can come before you only in this way and only because of what you have done for me in sending your perfect Son Jesus who was tempted in every way and yet was without sin. He made a way for me to approach you not in my own strength or because of my deeds but only because of the righteousness imputed on me through Christ’s finished work and by His precious blood spilled to cleanse me from all of my sins. Lord you are Holy yet by your grace allow us to be clean once again in your sight.

I thank you that you created each of us in your image and that we are your divine masterpiece. No matter who we are, you have created us and made a way for us to be saved by your death and resurrection. For those who are saved, we are your workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which you have appointed in advance for us to do.

I thank you for my precious daughter who entered this world in 1996. From the day of her birth she has lit up our lives and shown us amazing things about ourselves and about you. Through her you have shown us the true meaning of unconditional love in the ways you have taught us to love her and in also through the simplicity of her love for others. Thank you Lord that when we look at this world through her eyes we gain a whole new perspective on what is important and what really matters in this life. We thank you that you have given her a deep love for Jesus and the ability to worship you with a joy that exudes from her and touches many other people with its depth and simplicity.

As her father, I thank you for all the things that you have taught me through her and for the ways you have used her to change me, to humble me and to grant me more patience and love for others. Thank you for the ways that I have learned to rely on you for strength and to realize that my hopes and dreams are ultimately best fulfilled when surrendered to you instead of being upset by unrealistic expectations. I thank you for teaching me that children do not belong to their parents but only to yourself and that you are the one who looks after them and provides for them. I thank you that through my experiences with autism that I have a greater empathy for those who deal with this condition and a greater understanding and awareness of a multitude of issues that people deal with on a daily basis.

I pray that you will continue to teach me of your sacrificial love and what it means to have pure worship, through Laura and that you will continue to bless her and use her in even greater ways than you have already. She is yours and you have great plans to prosper her and use her to being glory to your Holy Name. In Jesus Name I pray.

This prayer is submitted by a thoughtful Christian who is a research pharmacist, originally from Scotland.