# A Prayer to the Immaculate Virgin Mary by St. Maximilian Kolbe
*2015-01-04*

> Bill shares a personal testimony of God’s providence and recites a powerful prayer to the Immaculate Virgin Mary composed by St. Maximilian Kolbe.

## God Provides Before We Even Know Our Needs

I’m newly retired and, like many, I’m balancing expenses with Social Security and a part‑time job. My wife pointed out that we were a little short on cash. Yet God knows what we need before we even realize it. At the end of last year I made my year‑end offering to my parish, and that contribution covered the extra money we needed for the coming months. In other ways, we’ve saved $100 a month by switching from cable to a high‑definition streaming service, and my employer added two extra workdays in January, giving us the additional income we required. God truly provides, but we also have to be good stewards of the resources He gives us.

## Choosing a Prayer for the Immaculate Virgin Mary

While preparing today’s episode I wanted to thank God for the blessings He’s poured out on my family. I searched for a prayer that would express my gratitude and found a beautiful one by St. Maximilian Kolbe. A word in the prayer caught my eye, so I looked it up on a pronunciation site to be sure I’d say it correctly. That moment confirmed that this was the prayer I should share with you.

## The Prayer

Grant that I may give praise to you, O Immaculate Virgin, with my commitment and personal sacrifice. Grant that I may live, work, suffer, consume myself, and die for you and only for you. Grant that I may lead the entire world to you, that I may contribute to the greater glory of your utmost glorification. Grant that I may render you glory such as no one has ever given you unto this day. Grant that others may surpass me in zeal for your glorification, and that I may surpass them, that together we may allow your glory to grow profoundly, rapidly, and intensely, according to the desire of Him who exalted you above all beings.

## Connecting with Listeners

We’re launching a new way to hear your prayer requests via Twitter. You can find us at @PrayerNLunch. If you send us a request, we’ll include it in a future episode. Let’s keep praying for one another.

*God knows our needs before we do, and He invites us to offer our lives in praise to the Immaculate Virgin Mary.*