NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 3/11

 

Night Prayer is longer than usual this evening, making time early in Lent to acknowledge our need for God's mercy...

 

Have mercy on me, O God,

for you are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness 

to all who call upon you...

- Psalm 86

I know you forgive sinners, Lord,
and I know how slow I can be 

to admit to my sins,

to acknowledge that I'm a sinner,

a sinner in need of your mercy and pardon...

And I know you're a judge, Lord, 

a just judge,
a merciful judge, a kind judge,

an insightful, wise and loving judge 

- but a judge nonetheless...

And I know that all I say and do

and all I fail to say and do
- that all these -

are subject to your judgment,

your merciful, wise, kind loving

- and just judgment...

 

Have mercy on me, O God,

for you are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness 

to all who call upon you...

And I know, Lord, how I minimize my sins: 

I make them smaller than they are
until they seem to disappear 

or count as nothing worth the counting...

And I know I often blame 

the folks I've hurt, the ones I've failed to love,
by pointing to their weaknesses and faults 

- while ignoring my own...

And I know I how I find ways to think 

- and then believe  -

that for some reason, Lord,
your laws simply don't apply to me  

and so I give myself a pass:

And I know I sometimes convince myself 

that why I do a wrong thing
somehow makes a wrong thing right 

and justifies my misdeed...

Have mercy on me, O God,

for you are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness 

to all who call upon you...

And I often presume upon your mercy, Lord,

assuming that it's there for me 

without my ever even having said

- I'm sorry -
without my taking time 

to count the times 

I've failed to love,

failed to listen to your word,

failed to do what you call me to do,

failed to turn away 

from anything and everything

that turns my heart from you...
 

And I so easily absolve myself of my failings
by comparing them to the greater sins of others,
forgetting that you judge me 

- not in comparison with my neighbor -

but only by the measure of your word:
    that I love you above all things
    and love my neighbor as myself...

In making light of my own faults, 

in pardoning myself,
I forget that you're my judge, Lord, 

that my every word and deed
are subject to your word, your law 

and your call that I live as who I am:

your beloved...

Have mercy on me, O God,

for you are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness 

to all who call upon you...

I know you forgive sinners, Lord,

but how will I know your mercy
if I don't name my need for it,

if I don't pray you look kindly on one like me
whose sins and pride cry out 

for your mercy and your pardon?

Let me not presume upon your gift, 

your pardon, Lord,
a gift I don't deserve, 

a gift I cannot merit
- yet a gift I so much need...

Have mercy on me, O God, 

for you have promised to be good and kind 

to all who call upon you...

Hear my prayer:

help me face and name my sins

and open wide my heart 

to the healing of your mercy
- and in finding it - 

turn from all the ways
I've offended you, my God, 

and my sisters and my brothers,

my neighbors, near and far...

 

Have mercy on me, O God,

for you are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness 

to all who call upon you...
 

Lord, in the quiet of my prayer tonight,

give me strength to brave the light,
that shines upon my sins...

In the quiet of my prayer, Lord,

give me the courage I need
to acknowledge my faults and failings...

In the quiet of my prayer, Lord, 

help me call upon your name

for the grace of your mercy

and your pardon of my sins...

In the quiet of my prayer, Lord,

in your abounding kindness, 

wash away my sins

and bathe me in your peace...

Have mercy on me, O God,

for you are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness 

to all who call upon you...

 

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

 

Create In Me by Graham Kendrick

 

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