O God, your divine wisdom sets in order all things in heaven and on earth. Put away from us all things hurtful and give us all things that are beneficial for us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
I live about a mile from the church which I serve. In order to care for this aging physical being that God made, I walk to my office most days. The other day I happened to get caught up in the stream of children who were making their way to the school which is adjacent to our church property. I was behind a quartet of girls. The school is a pre-K through 8th grade, and I would have guessed that three of them are in middle school and the fourth is obviously a little sister perhaps 1st or 2nd grade, clearly in awe of these older girls. They chattered and laughed together, the little one darting between them.
They were clearly all friends. The little sister was not pushed away, but lovingly made part of that little ensemble. It was good to see this simple and very mundane healthy interchange between these young people. No one had a nose buried in a phone. They were talking to one another and clearly having fun. I can imagine that these girls might grow to be life-long friends. We pray in this prayer that God would put away all things hurtful and give us all things beneficial for us. It is good for us to spend a moment today recognizing all the good and beneficial things that God has put in our lives. Many of them will be simple and easily overlooked. Thank God for a spouse, friend, or neighbor; praise him for a teacher or a job. Take stock of all those beneficial things today. God has heard this prayer and answered it in so many ways.