A CHRISTIAN’S SUNDAY PRAYER

My Father and My God,

Thank You, Father, for saving me from death, Hell, and Your coming wrath! Thank You, Lord Jesus, for living and dying in my place that I might be granted life everlasting. Thank You for fulfilling all the righteous demands of the Law of God in my place. Thank You for dying on the cross to satisfy the justice of God against my multitude of sins. Thank You for turning away God’s wrath from me by absorbing it all in your body and soul on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21). As the hymn writer wrote, “Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching the most defiled, By its transforming power, Making him God’s dear child, Purchasing peace and heaven, For all eternity— And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!”

Thank You, heavenly Father, for Your forgiveness! Thank You that when I daily confess my sins to You that You are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Thank You for Your kindness, mercy, grace, love, and compassion to such a sinful, weak, feeble, frail, fragile one such as I! Father, I love You! You have implanted Your love in my heart (Rom. 5:5). I love You because You first loved me (1 John 4:19). My love for You and for others is not what it ought to be. I realize and confess this sin to You. I know that I have not loved You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength! Nor have I loved my neighbor as myself. I am ashamed of my lack of love for You and my neighbor! I am ashamed of my sinful struggles in breaking Your Commandments. I fail daily to love You with my whole heart. I fail miserably! I have sinful thoughts, words, and actions, and even my best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin! As the Apostle Paul wrote, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” (Rom. 7:15).

But praise Jesus that He never failed to love You, Father, with His whole heart, soul, mind, and strength on behalf of His people. Even while Jesus suffered the inexpressible anguish, pains, and terrors of the cross, He loved you perfectly, O Father, on behalf of His sheep. Praise Jesus that He perfectly loved His neighbor as Himself in my place and on my behalf. What Amazing grace of Jesus that saved a wretch like me! For I once was lost but now I’m found, I was blind but now I see! I am a debtor to Your grace and mercy! As the hymn writer wrote, “A debtor to mercy alone, Of covenant mercy I sing, Nor fear, with God’s righteousness on, My person and off’rings to bring. The terrors of law and of God, With me can have nothing to do; My Savior’s obedience and blood Hide all my transgressions from view.”

O LORD, I need Your constant forgiveness as I have not reflected Your glory as I ought. I need Your continual abiding presence and Your face shining upon me lest I slip into despair, discouragement, or depression! I need You every hour! Holy Spirit, fill me with Your power and presence so that I might live solely for Christ! Revive me again to serve You with zeal and vigor! All too often I find myself as frustrated as the Apostle Paul in that I often know the right thing to do, which is to abstain from a particular sin, but quickly fall right back into that sin. Yet because of Your grace, I am determined by the strength of the Holy Spirit to fight sin and overcome temptation. I “feel” the words of the hymn writer reverberating in my soul, “O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”

Bless me, O my great Jehovah, keep me in the palm of Your hand. Keep me from sinning against You! Keep me from drifting away from You, Heavenly Father! Keep me, O Father, keep me I pray, for I am Your slave!

I ask all these things in Jesus’ name!
Amen!