Prayer 120311 Praise and Forgiveness

Our gracious heavenly father,

You are perfect, Lord. There is nothing we can point to in your nature, or your character, in your creation, in your interaction with people throughout history, or in your present dealings with us, that shows any hint of flaw, or weakness or failing in you. We are struck today by your loving forgiveness, your willingness to overlook our faults, to correct our failings, to reach out to us despite our imperfections, and to free us from the punishments we deserve for our rebellion against you. We love you for finding a way of matching perfect justice for all sin with perfect forgiveness and acceptance of the sinful. We thank you for working to bring us to you, for forging the path that leads us to you, and taking our hands and leading us along it every step of the way.

We praise you, our Father, for opening for us a way not only to be your servants, but to become heirs, children of yours, brothers and sisters alongside Jesus Christ. We thank you that we can inherit his glory, that right now here on earth we can call ourselves children of the living God, that we can know surely that when we confess our sins to you, they are forgiven, that whatever we come to you with, we will find you merciful and loving toward us. You tell us that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. We are told that Christ lives in us, and that we dwell in Christ. And you assure us that even the Father makes his home in us. For the relationship you hold open to us, the divine embrace into which we can be a part of, the bond we can share with Father, Son and Spirit, we thank you.

Amen

Now, Father,

We come to you in supplication, to ask that the mercy you show to us might continue to be extended to us. We acknowledge that we are unable to approach your perfection, because we are sinful, greedy, selfish, lustful beings, and we cannot love you as you love us. We cannot always forgive as you forgave us. So we come before you and confess that we have sinned against you, that we fall short of your standard of perfection. We throw ourselves upon your mercy, knowing that you have promised to forgive us time and time again. You have paid the price for our sin, through the sacrifice of our king, Jesus Christ, and you have shown us through his resurrection that such sin holds no power over us any longer. Help us to be strong and self-controlled, give us the strength to repent and turn away from our sin, and to seek your glory.

Father, we ask that your forgiveness will extend out into the world, challenging people's selfishness and imperfection, and washing them clean of it. We ask that as you have forgiven us, so may we turn outwards from this fellowship, and share that forgiveness with others in our community. We pray that you might be powerful in convicting people of their fallen nature, revealing to them their powerlessness, and at the same time showing them your power to save them. Help us to accept those who the world turns away, to show mercy where others perhaps seek justice.

And Father, just as we ask for these eternal mercies, we know that your love extends even to watching over our temporal sufferings, and we would ask for your mercy in those things. For those who are sick and suffering, Lord please give them strength and comfort, to them and to their families. For those who are anxious about current troubles, give them your eternal peace. For those of us who might be hard-hearted and hard-headed towards your message of forgiveness finding ourselves and others, soften our hearts and our thoughts, and give us your spirit of mercy.

In all these things we look to our Saviour Jesus, who embodied them all in perfection, and we pray in his name,

Amen