Whirlpool by David O’Hare CC BY 2.0
O Father in heaven,
I come to You in lowliness of heart
begging You to drown my transgressions
in the sea of You own infinite love.
My failure to be true even to my own accepted standards,
My self-deception in the face of temptation,
My choosing the worse when I know the better,
O Lord, forgive.
My failure to apply to myself the standards of conduct I demand of others,
My blindness to the suffering of others
and my slowness to be taught by my own,
My complacence toward wrongs that do not touch my own case
and my over-sensitiveness to those that do,
My slowness to see the good in my fellows
and to see the evil in myself,
My hardness of heart towards my neighbors’ faults
and my readiness to make allowance for my own,
My unwillingness to believe that You hast called me to a small work
and my brother to a great one.
O Lord, forgive.
John Baillie, 1886–1960, Scottish theologian
A Diary of Private Prayer, slightly edited
___________________________
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
prayer & verse 