Our Father in Heaven,
In calling us to be Christians you called us to be light in the midst of darkness, and blessings in the midst of misery. But we have not lived up to this calling, nor adequately sought to fulfill it.
That is why we bow before you this morning, because we need to be forgiven for our lack of forethought. We are people who most frequently live by our whims and passions, and we fail to consider the future and how we might do good.
In this regard, our greatest offense has been against you. You have never ceased to think about us, and it is to our shame that we have not ceased for even a moment to devise ways to please you. We have not honored you because we have not properly prepared our hearts for worship or calculated when we could set aside time for special prayer, personal devotions, and much needed adoration and thanksgiving.
But we have sinned not only against heaven, but against our peers here on earth. Instead of carefully studying how we might be of benefit to our neighbors, we have been much consumed with ourselves and our own gain.
We beg you for pardon because the plans we have made have only revolved around our own desires and personal satisfaction. We have forgotten your past acts of love and have not remembered your great acts of redemption. You moved mightily in order to deliver us in our times of need. But you deeds have been like mighty storms of rain: they came with much power and made us stand in awe, but with their passing they were quickly forgotten. Indeed they were eclipsed by unrelenting selfishness and lust.
Forgive us, Lord, for failing to have a preemptive love. And give us hearts that truly esteem you. Turn us to yourself, and let our soul’s be fixed upon you. May all of our intentions and longings be focused upon the one who has loved us and given his life for us.
For this we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.
