A Friday Prayer

Occasionally

Lord, most of all today I’m thankful
that you keep our hearts tender enough to see our sins—at least occasionally.
Because if it were left up to us, Lord,
we would most likely go on forever deluding ourselves about our goodness and our badness.
We would much rather pay attention to our struggles and conflicts
than confess our sins.
And you know how much more fun it is for us to describe
embroider and proclaimeach other’s sins than to admit our own.

Were you watching and listening, Lord,
when we decided—
maybe thoughtlessly—
to rid our conversations
our teaching
our preaching
our worship
and our practice
of any thought or reference to our sins?
Did you notice when we stopped confessing our sins?
When we stopped asking for your forgiveness?
And each other’s forgiveness?

Grant me, and each of us, Lord, the grace to see ourselves in light of your truth.
Deliver us from our daily temptation to excuse ourselves from the
cleansing rituals of confession and repentance.

Deliver us, O Lord, from
spiritual make-believe.
Love us into light even when, mostly when
we would rather linger in the darkness.

Shine your bright, revealing, blinding
will on us so we may begin to see ourselves
as you see us. Then, please, Lord, rescue us
from ourselves. Have mercy on us, O Lord,
and forgive the sins we see and confess.

Via Highland Oaks COC