Prayer of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

“O Lord, come quickly and reign on Thy throne, for now often something rises up within me and tries to
take possession of Thy throne; pride, covetousness, uncleanness, and sloth want to be my kings; and
then evil speaking, anger, hatred, and the whole train of vices join with me in warring against myself
and try to reign over me. I resist them, I cry out against them, and say, ‘I have no other king than
Christ.’ O King of Peace, come and reign in me, for I will have no king but Thee! Amen.”

What an amazing prayer from this 10th century monk! We need to remember our brothers and sister in Christ on whose shoulders we stand on. Understanding the history of the church is so important for many reasons such as: 1. To see God's work and grace in the protection and growth of his people. 2. To seek forgiveness for mistakes and work to avoid repeating them. 3. To know that our time is not a time of "innovation" or "new trends" but rather a time of trust in the steadfast of God. 4. To get to know the family history we are apart of and connected to by the blood of Jesus.

I have been currently going through the book "The Story of Christianity vol.1" by Justo Gonzalez in a class I am taking from Covenant Seminary. I will be studying vol. 2 in the spring. I have really been enjoying this book and recommend it as a great starting place to understand church history.