Grace Before and After

May Your grace, O Lord, we pray, at all times go before us and follow after and make us always determined to carry out good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

God's grace goes before us. We do nothing withour His grace. Without the favor that He pours out upon us, we wouldn't even exist. Without God's saving plan, we would still be dead in our sins. Without God's loving care, we would never be able to experience God's presence. Without God's desire for us, we would never get to Heaven.

So God's grace always goes before us, anticipating all our needs, providing all that is required for our lives and for our eternal salvation.

But God's grace also follows after us. We have free will, and we often misuse it and fall into sin. But God's grace waits for our repentance and showers forgiveness upon us. God's grace supports us in our suffering. God's grace calms us in our fears. God's grace heals our ills in God's perfect timing.

God's grace even urges us on to good works. We could do nothing without this grace. God gives us the ability to love. He whispers into our thoughts. He inspires our words. He nudges us to do good for others. At every step, His grace shows us the path we should take. Our job is to listen, to look, to discern, and to follow.

May Your grace, O Lord, we pray, at all times go before us and follow after and make us always determined to carry out good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(The prayer is the Sunday collect for the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time.)