I confess, Lord, that I’ve lived my whole life trusting in myself for strength. Only on a few occasions — my Mother’s death and my son’s bout with cancer—have I turned to you and given up and rested in your peace. Day by day I plan and think and act on my own without looking to you for guidance, without prayer, without turning over my plans and deeds to you. But instead of even asking you to bless my plans and acts, I should ask you to show me where you want me to serve you, what you want me to do each day.
Where do you want me to serve you this day? Father, do whatever you need to do in order to make me more fruitful. Let me be your handiwork, not my own. Use me for your purposes, redirect me when I move in directions you do not intend for me. Let me be encouraged to join your work instead of initiating my own.
Almighty God, may I confess my sins and weaknesses and be humble always. Let me be more and more dependent on you. Let my spirit be poor that I may be filled by your Spirit. I repent of my pride, my self-sufficiency, my superiority. Let me be uncertain of all I think I know. Let me be humble, letting others teach me. Help me to be like a child, curious and inquisitive with no sense of knowing anything. Let me empty out all my categories, all my systems for judging, all my artificial structures for placing myself on top.
Lord, I thank you for this time together, for showing me your perfect path for me. Thank you for all the blessings you have given me, all the free gifts you have lavished on me. All my sins are before me, but as I confess them, you wash them all away. Sanctify me, O Lord, through the work of your Holy Spirit.
In humble adoration,
Doug