Dear God,
We come to you today, your children, to praise you for who you are and what you have done for us. We thank you for calling us your own and leading us from darkness into light. We thank you for creating us, sustaining us, and redeeming us to eternal life through the sacrifice of Jesus. We thank you that even though we see dimly the truth of your glory, you continue to make yourself known to us and we look forward to the day that we may know you fully.
We come to you today God, your children, to ask forgiveness for falling short of your will and desire for us. Forgive us for our sinful actions, those we recognize and those we’re still too blind to see. Give us humility to recognize our own shortcomings and the grace to forgive them in others. Forgive us God for our sinful omissions. Lead us to always act in the way that you would guide us. Forgive us for failing to encourage and lift up. Forgive us for sitting by in the midst of injustice. Forgive us for thinking we’re better than we really are. Take away our arrogant spirits, quick to point out the mistakes we perceive in others. Replace it instead with an humble heart, recognizing that the battle is over, the victory is won.
We come to you today God, your children, to lift our needs to you. You are a good God, and provide for us well. We pray that you would hear the need of our hearts and show us your peace. We pray for our children. Help us to raise them that they might grow to reflect your glory, knowing that they too are yours. Give us the compassion to hold them tight when they are vulnerable and give us the wisdom to let them go when they are strong.
God, we come to you today, thankful that we are your children, but knowing that we fall short of the honor of that title. For this we are indebted to you for providing the sacrifice that would clean our dirty souls that we might present ourselves to you, the living God through prayers such as this, that you might hear our voice and speak to us in return the good word needed in our ear.
(1 John 3:1-7)
