Forgive them all, O Lord

September 28, 2021September 27, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Forgive them all, O Lord:

our sins of omission and our sins of commission;

the sins of our youth and the sins of our riper years;

the sins of our souls and the sins of our bodies;

our secret and our more open sins;

our sins of ignorance and surprise,

and our more deliberate and presumptuous sins;

the sins we have done to please ourselves

and the sins we have done to please others;

the sins we know and remember,

and the sins we have forgotten;

the sins we have striven to hide from others

and the sins by which we have made others offend;

forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all for his sake,

who died for our sins and rose for our justification,

and now stands at thy right hand to make intercession for us,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

John Wesley, 1703-1791, English churchman and founder of Methodism

The Westminster Collection of Christian Prayer

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1 John 2:1-2

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.

But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father

—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,

and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Sometimes I choose sin

March 5, 2021March 4, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Father – the truth about me is that often I choose sin:

Sometimes I choose hatred. Sometimes I choose slander.

Sometimes I choose envy. Sometimes I choose greed.

Sometimes I choose pettiness. Sometimes I choose lust.

Sometimes I choose gossip. Sometimes I choose pride.

Sometimes I choose self-reliance.

Sometimes I choose self-righteousness.

Sometimes I choose self-aggrandizement.

Sometimes I choose dishonesty.

Sometimes I choose unkind words.

Sometimes I choose to ignore the obvious needs around me.

Sometimes I choose to hoard my resources.

Sometimes I choose to neglect Your command to share the gospel.

The list of things I wrongly choose could go on and on. And sometimes

I act on these things in ways that are darker than I ever care to state.

Each time I make such a choice, I choose death.

Today, I ask that You breathe life into my soul afresh

and enable me to choose life – to choose You and Your ways.

Kurt Bjorklund, 1968- , American Minister and author or

Prayers for Today A Yearlong Journey of Devotional Prayer

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Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death,

but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

deliver those who have fallen into sin

March 3, 2021March 2, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Deliver, O most merciful God,
those little ones of thy flock who have fallen into sin.
Remember not their offences,
but set them free from the snare of the enemy.
Prosper with the help of the Holy Spirit
the endeavors of all who are seeking to train them for good.
Grant that following after humility
and being made partakers of thy heavenly wisdom,
they may be strengthened to the performance of thy will
and may be restored to the perfect fellowship of thy saints;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Robert Leighton, 1611-1684, Scottish minister and scholar
2000 Years of Prayer

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Hebrews 3:12-13

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart

that turns away from the living God.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,”

so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

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cleanse me from my sin!

February 25, 2021February 24, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Where shall I begin to weep for the actions of my wretched life?

What first-fruit shall I offer, O Christ, in this my lamentation?
But in Your compassion grant me forgiveness of sins.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Come, wretched soul, with your flesh to the Creator of all.

Make confession to Him, and abstain henceforth from past brutishness;

and offer to God tears of repentance.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have rivaled in transgression, Adam, the first-formed man,

and I have found myself stripped naked of God,

of the eternal Kingdom and its joy, because of my sins.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Woe to you, miserable soul! How alike you are to first Eve!

For you have looked in wickedness and were grievously wounded;

you have touched the tree and rashly tasted the deceptive food.