Irish Prayer - author unknown

May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your window pane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you and

May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you're dead.

I don't know who wrote this prayer. I don't see anything that makes it "Irish" but that's how it was introduced to me. I like each line.

The last line makes me smile. I don't know that the devil has any "claims" on a person when they die. I think that we make that decision, even if we don't know we have. You know, the decision to follow Jesus or not. Even when people don't make the choice, they make the choice of by their non-decision. According to Ray Pritchard, in An Anchor for the Soul - Study Guide, "Not to decide is an decision in itself. If you don't say yes to Christ, You are actually saying no." There are a lot of decisions that are made just that way, by not choosing a side.

I know it isn't popular to say that Christ is the only way. Many, many people, good people, want that to not be the case. But Jesus said it. It is in the Bible. If that isn't true, it makes the whole Bible subject to falsehoods. A person either has to base his/her faith on the whole Bible or it is just a nice book of stories. I don't see how it can be both. I think we, ourselves, can misinterpret the Bible but I don't think we can pick and choose which parts are true and which are false.

So, I say this prayer for you with the additional line: May you personally meet Christ so the devil isn't given the opportunity to even know when you die. Amen.

PS:

415103: An Anchor for the Soul--Study Guide

An Anchor for the Soul--Study Guide

By Ray Pritchard

This book is a good study to understand why you should trust Christ.

Comments

AnonymousFebruary 26, 2011 at 7:28 PM
I appreciate your mentioning An Anchor for the Soul by Ray Pritchard. It's a wonderful book to turn to - straightforward and clearly written - when wrestling with tough questions about God and Jesus. The "Go Deeper" questions at the end of each chapter are a nice addition.
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ernieMarch 1, 2011 at 4:27 AM
Hi
I read your blog and found it very informative and helpful to me .Thanks for such an effort
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Sherri HardingMarch 23, 2011 at 10:50 AM
This comment has been removed by the author.
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