O God,
You know how prone we are to cleanse the outside of the cup. We know the destiny of the good Pharisee. Yet we pride ourselves on how clean and moral we are in comparison to others. We even congratulate ourselves our outward piety. But such is wickedness and iniquity, for our true goal has not been the honor of your name. Rather we have been self consumed and we have sought by our ethical theatrics the applause of men.
O, what do we see when we open the cavity of our chest? Is it not rank putrefaction? Does not the evil that resides there compare to an aged tomb? Father we confess that these hearts of ours are still so filled with dead men’s bones. We acknowledge that this is the only place in the world where death is active, and ever so lively.
Father, we know that you find it even more foul than we do; for you see it as it is and its odor rises before you day and night. It is for this reason we seek your favor. We want you to forgive us, O God. Forgive us for using religion as a means of gaining recognition and concerning ourselves so much with externals only. And forgive us for being so deluded and failing to recognize the real (the pitiful!) state of our souls.
Lord, we want you to eliminate Pharisaical spirit and we want you to reign in us. But all we can do now is fall upon Christ and beg you for that which we do not deserve. Cleanse us from this mask of religiosity, and give us hearts that do manifest true godliness from the heart.
