A Concord Pastor Comments: Monday Morning Offering: 1/16

A song for this holiday
and for today's Pause for Prayer...

From the depths of your heart, Lord,
   help me overcome my prejudice,
   my bias and my bigotry,
   my narrow-minded thinking
   and rash judgments
and help me overcome the temptation to think
   that none of these faults are mine...

With the grace of your mercy, Lord,
   help me overcome my selfishness,
   my jealousy and greed,
   my pride and self-importance,
   my careless disregard of others' needs
and help me overcome the thought
   that I'm above all such things...

With the power of your Spirit, Lord,
   help me overcome my laziness,
   my lustful thoughts and longings,
   my apathy and envy
   and my ungoverned appetites
and help me overcome the self-evaluation
   in which none of this applies to me...

With the justice of your word, Lord,
   help me overcome my tendencies:
   to stretch the truth, to cheat and lie,
   to take what isn't mine,
   to deny what's due to others
and help me overcome the notion
   that I'm above such base inclinations...

With the power of your love, Lord,
   help me overcome my fears,
   my worries and anxieties,
   my doubts and my uncertainties,
   my lack of trust in you and others
and help me overcome my thinking
   that I will never be strong in spirit...

With the strength of your arm, Lord,
   help me overcome what keeps me down,
   what holds me back,
   what slows me up,
   what locks me in...
and help me overcome the inertia
   that holds me captive in all these ways...

With all you have to offer, Lord,
   help me overcome what keeps me
   from your presence and from prayer,
   from your mercy and compassion,
   from your love, your peace and joy...

Amen.