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Prayers on the theme of Healing
and Forgiveness - 1
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I don't wish to give the impression that healing and forgiveness
are linked with sickness and sin. Healing does however cover more
than just the physical, as it encompasses relationships, feelings,
prejudices and so much more. I am sure that to an extent our state
of mind affects our state of health. Forgiveness therefore can often
be an important first step in the healing of relationships, and
in overcoming our own dis-ease with our lives caused by pride, our
lack of humility, our failure to follow Christ's command to love.
There is a reason why the prayer of confession takes place often
near the beginning of an act of worship - it centres our minds and
our thoughts on those things which separate us from God, and brings
us back to that place where we can worship with all of our heart
and spirit.
Loving Father,
all the fancy words
in the world,
expressed in eloquent prose,
decorated with emotion,
spoken with conviction,
cannot compete with a heartfelt
'sorry'
when all other words fail.
There are times
when we are all too aware
of our limitations,
conscious of sin
and the distance it creates between us.
Sometimes 'sorry'
is all the heart can bear to say aloud.
It is only you
who can read and understand
the language of our hearts.
Only you who can translate our 'sorry'
into the prayer we would have prayed,
if we had the words within us.
Then you forgive,
and having forgiven,
surround us in an embrace of love,
drawing us close to your heart,
as it was always meant to be.
Thank you, Loving Father,
that you listen to hearts
as well as voices.
Thank you.
Your forgiveness is total;
no notebook,
tape recorder
or post-it note
to remind you of that moment
when.……..
You take our confession,
offered with hands outstretched,
and gently,
like the loving
heavenly Father that you are,
put it to one side
to be forgotten.
No grudges, no itching for judgement,
no resentment or ill-will.
Not like us
who find it easy to say sorry,
but so hard to forgive,
absolutely.
Forgive us, Father
that we are often more willing
to accept forgiveness,
than to forgive.
More willing to accept your love,
than to share it with those
who have hurt us.
Teach us to forgive
as you forgive
Love
has its source in you
Creator God.
Flows from you like an ocean,
into a world as unyielding
as any shoreline cliff.
And like the ocean,
which batters,
erodes,
and wears away
even the hardest stone,
your love persists,
finds cracks and inlets
in hardened hearts,
flows inside and works a miracle.
Who would think that water
was more powerful than granite,
love mightier
than the hardest heart.
Thank you, Creator God
for the power of your love
Just a mustard seed, you said.
Just a mustard seed of faith to remove
the mountain of doubts and difficulties,
which beset our often frail existence.
We readily confess, Lord Jesus
that there are times when we reach out
seemingly in vain for that mustard seed.
And yet, if we did but think for a moment,
in that very act of reaching out
we reveal the presence
of the very seed that we seek.
Lord Jesus we have faith in your power to heal,
but lack the self-confidence to ask.
We have faith in your ability to mend broken hearts,
but lack the experience in our own lives.
We have faith in your power to bring wholeness
into lives that are incomplete,
but hesitate to trouble you with our prayers.
We are like children, Lord Jesus,
standing here in awe of your power and love,
afraid to ask that which we know is possible,
because we are afraid
of the consequences of our asking.
Lord Jesus, accept the mustard seed
that we hold out to you, hearts outstretched.
Take it and the prayers that we offer,
and grant us the grace to accept
that our prayers are heard and answered,
at the moment of asking,
by a God who knows our incompleteness,
and is working to make us whole
Saving God, we are your people
yet the world cannot see this.
We are your children
and fail to live in peace.
We are your voices
and choose to be silent.
We are your hands and feet,
and walk a different road.
Forgive us, for ignoring your love,
for brushing aside your hand
and trusting our own wisdom.
Enable us to worship you
in spirit and in truth,
to bring to you our joyful songs
in the everyday moments of our lives.
That your name might be glorified
through our words and lives
Amen
Heavenly God
you gifted this world,
and made us stewards of it.
Gave us family from many lands
and ask us to care for them.
Put your word upon our heart,
and ask only that we share it.
But we have thought only of ourselves,
and the blessings of our lives,
forgetting that your grace
and love are for the benefit of all.
Forgive our selfishness,
enlarge our vision,
and enable us to be
the people we could be,
faithful servants
of our heavenly King
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©
John Birch, FaithAndWorship.com (email
me!)