Lisa Barry: All this week Elisabeth Elliot has been doing a special series on holy living. So far, we've learned that prayer is the foundation of holiness. We've also discovered that dependence on God means that we take the focus off of ourselves and on to Christ in a spirit of humility.

Today on Gateway To Joy Elisabeth provides us with some much-needed motivation from the lives of praying people. Whether you're new to the Christian life or you're a seasoned intercessor, you'll find strength for your own prayer journey, next on Gateway To Joy.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says, "and underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, talking again today on the subject of prayer.

I love the poems of Amy Carmichael and the prayer that I memorized way back when I was college student has been one of the prayers of my life. This is what she wrote:

Not that she was not asking that she should be sheltered from winds that beat on the Lord Jesus Himself, not that she should fear, not that she should falter instead of being a true soldier of the cross--she was asking God to make her His fuel.

I have a letter here from a mother. She says:

"Years ago I wrote to ask for prayer because my husband was badly wounded by friendly fire during Army training. Alma Griffin wrote a response that was timely and right on. You see, my husband's injury involved the whole right side of his brain, and blinded and paralyzed him. There was a major change in my life that I was not handling very well. How was I to obey a man whom I could not trust to make even routine decisions, never mind life-sustaining, life-changing ones?

"God's grace was sufficient for me and your timely counsel and prayer and the prayer support of many friends got me over the initial hump. But the ongoing, day-to-day living can get depressing if your focus is on your circumstances instead of on the Mighty God who chose every path for you. What really helps me daily is the prayer about offering up today all that I am that I will respond with instant obedience to God's plan for me. Saying that prayer every morning," and in parenthesis she says, "(I have taped it to my mirror in the bathroom) helps me to get a right perspective for the day. Thank you for sending it in your New Year's letter.

"I am writing also in response to your Gatekeeper newsletter article 'See Christ in Your Husband.' Again, thank you for a great article. I must tell you that seeing Christ in my husband keeps me in check, a little nervous to do or say anything that would offend my Lord. I have found that even in submitting totally to my brain-damaged husband there is complete and total joy and peace as I know only God can protect and lead me--even through him--and that He is able. The more I submit to my husband's leadership, to the family, the more of a great leader he becomes. The more successful he is, the more motivated he is to continue on.

"We have been blessed with three more children since his injury, which has really cemented our relationship. I love trusting God through this man; He gives me more love for him every day. We've been married now almost nineteen years. I wouldn't trade my cross for anything. I wake in the morning excited for how God will show Himself to me this day; I seek Him and find Him in every little thing. I urge women who have trouble serving a 'whole' man, give it up; it's not worth holding on to if you can't keep it anyway. Jim Elliot said it better than anyone else; 'He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.'

"Yes, I see Christ Himself in my disabled husband. I see the wounded head bowed down for me. I see the stripes taken for my sins. I see the pierced and bleeding hands and feet. Now I see the scars, signs that the wounds are healed and He walks and talks with me daily. Not a bone was broken but there was a lot bleeding, was I worth such suffering? Are we worth all the work our husbands put into living with and serving us, providing for our children, paying all the bills? I want to be worth it all. I feel like a gift. Every day I'm unwrapped, are the recipients going to like what they see? May God let it be so.

"As a mother, I realize the awesome responsibility we have in keeping out attitudes in check. Because as the heart of the home, we do set the atmosphere. Thank you, Mrs. Elliot for your timely teaching, I'm convinced that your work and words are of Lord and we thank Him for you. We continue to hold you up for clarity of mind and speech as you asked in your last letter."

Well, thank you so very much. I won't give you the lady's name, but that is a most unusual story, a wonderful story of how in spite of very grave injuries, this husband is still the head of the house and the wife is loving him and submitting to him and praying for him. In that letter I counted that there were at least four times, she speaks about the word prayer.

Some of you are familiar perhaps with a prayer for the middle-aged. It has been attributed to any number of ministers and religious writers. Somebody said it was a member of British royalty, somebody else said it was a sea captain, and somebody else said it was a medieval nun. So who knows who wrote this prayer, but somebody did. And one newspaper account claims it was written by none of the above but by Alta Becker of Dayton, OH, in 1956, she used it in her Lenten lectures at the Dayton women's club and was asked each year for copies.

It has been reprinted many times. The Duchess of Windsor used it in her New Year's resolutions, printed in McCall's magazine in 1962 with no credit cited. The Reader's Digest however, credited it to Thomas E. Dewey in 1952, which makes one wonder if perhaps Mrs. Becker had read it there. Although there are several different versions and the origin remains uncertain, I find the words well worth pondering. "A Prayer for the Middle-Aged":

"Lord, Thou knowest better than I, that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from getting loquacious, and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to try to straighten out everyone's affairs. Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all; but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end, at least enough for pallbearers with a mourner or two. Do not let the editor head my obituary with the words, 'Old crab dies at last, everybody glad.'

"Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains; they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains, but help me to endure them with patience. I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

"Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a Saint; some of them are so hard to live with, but a sour old woman is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. Give me the grace to tell them so."

Well I needed that reminder myself as I am broadcasting today, "A Prayer for the Middle-Aged." Well I am beyond middle-aged now and I know that I am old, and I'm asking the Lord to keep me from getting loquacious and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Will you, my radio listeners, pray for me, that God will tell me when it's time for me to quit trying to do Gateway To Joy. I keep wondering, Lord, how long do you want me to do this? I stumble, I forget things, I'm old, but Lord I want to do Your will. That's the only thing that you need to pray specifically for me. Will you do that? I'm going to count on it. Thank you.

Lisa Barry: What a touching way to end today's program. I know that she would covet your prayers for her and for Gateway To Joy as we look to the future. Elisabeth has always been willing to serve on this platform as long as God was asking her to do so. We can all see the amazing sovereignty of God in bringing Gateway To Joy to the radio twelve and a half years ago.

And let me just mention here as we reflect on the words Elisabeth has closed with, that we believe God is leading in a transition to another woman who will follow in Elisabeth's footsteps and build on the foundation that she, by God's grace and strength, has laid. That woman is Nancy Leigh DeMoss and you'll be hearing from her over the summer as we point toward a program transition in the fall. So as Elisabeth requested, please pray for her and please pray for the whole ministry of Gateway To Joy as we look ahead and listen in the coming weeks as we talk more about what we believe God is orchestrating.

Before we close today, let me just refer you to a couple of resources we have available from Gateway To Joy. One is Elisabeth's book, A Lamp for My Feet; it will keep your attitudes and priorities in check. For information on how to get a copy for yourself, get in touch with us here at 1-800-759-4JOY. That's twenty-four hours a day. Or write a letter and send it to:

Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, NE 68501. Or a third option is our Web site and that is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy is a production of Back to the Bible.

Tune in again tomorrow when Elisabeth takes a practical approach to holy living with an important message on modesty. This is Lisa Barry, thanking you for listening. And be sure to join us again tomorrow when we meet again for the next Gateway To Joy.