PRAYING

......With integrity!

Then Nathan said to David, you are the man! You despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil, thus says the Lord, you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun. So David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. (2 Samuel 12:7,9,12-13)

God, we tell ourselves, “No one, is perfect!” And with such rationalizations, we promise ourselves that we will do better. Remind us that You allow no plea bargaining in Your courtroom. As much as we might desire to plead guilty of a minor offense and have other charges against us dropped, Your holiness presents no such options. There is no settling out of court. We must appear before You. Like David, we keep trying to fix our problems only to get deeper and deeper into a debt of sin with You. We never intended to hurt others. Some among us never imagined that they could actually do the things in which they have privately participated. Sometimes there have been accomplices. We carry such shame secretly. Forgive us, if we have ever asked someone else to assist in covering our sin. Forgive us, if we have ever aided another person in concealing an offense. Our sin is greater than we are willing to acknowledge. Ashamed, we imagine that we can hide these things even from You. If no else sees, You do. It is You that we have offended and disappointed most. This requires a face to face encounter. Coming openly and sincerely, we will always  find You loving and forgiving. Gentleness will also be Your disposition toward us, no matter the sin, when we hide nothing. We come, Father. Imperfect and self-wounded, we come. Amen.

Today’s Quote

One who turns his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

INTERCEDE

Prayer Exercise:

Ask your spouse to pray with you today! Pray to be more like Jesus!