First thing in the morning, we might tune into our computers, smartphones, or huge screen monitors for information and news of the day, reading and seeing many events around the world, like the ongoing pandemic, the rise of an old and failed secular religion and the social unrest it is causing, a morally compromised and politically divided United States of America, or successful investing strategies, or the latest fashions from Europe, or the latest vaccine news. However, and wherever we turn these days, the news seems overwhelming and sometimes might cause us to experience different emotions like loneliness, anxiety, fear, doubt, and anger. Despite all the anxious news, I am challenged in this moment to be quiet before the LORD, meditating on the meaning of the sacrifice of Jesus for my sin.
Let us turn off all the worldly distractions right now and be humbled before God as He calls us into a time of right living. God comforts and leads us in paths of His righteousness always, but right now . . .
. . . Let us covenant to repent and declare the Sovereign Lord reigns in our lives.
. . . Let us blanket His creation in prayer repenting of all sin in us that grieves God.
. . . Let us humble ourselves before God seeking His forgiveness.
. . . Let us pray to God asking that He heal our land turning unrepentant hearts to His glory.
The veil of death and suffering is blanketing the world as well as the hearts and minds of many. Worse still is the veil of sin and deceit that we, collectively, are about in our original sin.
Today, right now, we are reminded that Jesus is present with us forgiving our sins. God promised this long ago, and in His fullness of time became incarnate through His Son, Jesus Christ. For His Creation through Jesus’ suffering on that cursed symbol of death in the Roman culture, the cross, He suffered a horrific and humiliating death so that we might not taste the sting of eternal death. Yes, He died on that cross and three days later rose from temporal death so we might live in eternity with Him!
Before we run joyously to the empty grave and the glory of Jesus’ resurrection, let us travel in the Spirit to Calvary and sit at the base of the cross searching our hearts in earnest. God will go before us and show us the way.
A suggested prayer of repentance is found here. It is rich with thought-provoking imagery. Use it as a starting place in your prayer of repentance. God will grant the increase of our faith as we come before Him encouraging one another in meditation and prayer.
Remember His faithful promise . . . He will never leave us or forsake us.
Now, let us spend some time with our Lord today. He is jealous of the time we share in His presence. He has us alone, in our prayer closets, in exile, in a land filled with plague, away from our routines for a reason.
Look around and do not despair . . . God goes before us in this fullness of time.
In another fullness of time many thousands of years ago, God called out to His people through the prophet Jeremiah, “If my people will turn their hearts to me, I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” They did not obey God’s commands and as a defeated nation were led away into exile and captivity for 70 years.
Just as in that epoch, God has prepared a time for us to turn our hearts to Him, the Maker of all things great and small in the universe, like a virus, so that He might hear our petitions and heal His creation in miraculous ways. But, will we repent of our sin and obey His commands as is His due as Sovereign of the Universe?
So, we humbly come before our God, the Maker and Creator, the Sovereign of the Universe, and we pray . . .
. . . O LORD, God above all gods, I repent before you of all that I am.
. . . Search me, O Lord, and know my heart.
. . . Try me and know my pride, my anxieties, my fears, and my doubts.
. . . Come and dwell within me in this hour, convict me and cleanse me of the wickedness in me and lead me in the Way everlasting.
Father, in Jesus’ Name I bow before You. Cleanse me from all sin. Fill me with Your Word and Your Wisdom that I may be worthy of Your blessing and so may be equipped to stay strong in the faith and do Your Will.
Grant me patience as I labor to make Your ways known in my words and conduct to my family and neighbors, to this nation, and to Your world.
Thank You, Lord as You extend Your mercy and pardon in this hour, that You lead me to genuinely repent before You.
Lead me to an understanding of how far I have strayed, and how far we have strayed as a nation. I humbly come before You and sincerely ask for Your forgiveness and restoration, personally and collectively.
Forgive me for the things I have said or done which have contributed to hostility toward Jesus and the Christian faith.
Forgive me for failing to love as You love, for holding unforgiveness in my heart, even as You poured out forgiveness for all with Your blood, sweat, and tears – even with Your life.
Forgive me now, in Your Love, so that I may forgive others in love. Show me the error of my ways and help me find Your Way.
Forgive me for the times I have neglected to speak up when Your name was blasphemed.
Grant me boldness to speak out in Your defense and in humility demonstrate reverence for You to them.
Then, I will display fruits of righteousness from You to my neighbors for Your Name and to Your Glory. I will speak of Your Name forever with reverence.
But in this hour . . .
. . . Forgive my silence, Lord.
. . . Forgive my pride.
. . . Forgive my apathy.
. . . Forgive my doubts of You.
. . . Forgive my fear of others instead of righteously fearing You, for You alone are Just and Righteous.
In this, I humbly repent before You, for You are the Lord above all lords. Hear me, O Lord!
Hear me now, O Lord, as I also pray on behalf of our entire nation in this hour of repentance
. . . Forgive our nation, Lord. Show us how to be in this world but not of it. Show us how to champion Your Truth and Your Gospel.
As a nation we have lost our way without You.
As a nation we have lost our way as we have worshiped other gods.
I pray for Your merciful patience and protection over the United States of America as we seek Jesus anew in Your deliverance and in Your strength, even as we ask Your forgiveness for our country’s sinful ways.
Create in us, individually and collectively, clean hearts O God, and renew the Holy Spirit rightly within us. In your Wrath, do not cause us ruin, but rebuild our faith in a right way of living for You. Make us once again a righteous nation and a beacon of hope for all the nations.
Extend your loving hand to us once again, O Lord!
Forgive us our national and collective sin, I pray.
Forgive us as we doubt Your Presence in our nation and live in our cultural sin. Forgive us as we strive in our own strength and might for earthly gain and success.
Turn our hearts to You, increasing our faith and devotion to You as the Sovereign God of all Creation.
Forgive us for our attempts to control and fix this broken world in our own power. All Power and Divine Will is Yours, O Lord!
Father, Your Word makes clear that we cannot mock You and Your Holy Name without consequence. Do not hide Your face from us as we confess this treasonous sin. Forgive us, O Lord!
Thank You for grating us repentance as a spiritual weapon that will invoke Your help IF we turn from our wicked ways. We humble ourselves before You, O Lord, and seek Your restoration.
Grant us faith and spiritual wisdom to see Your Divine Presence in all of our days. Show us the Way in Your Power and Might and Glory - for You are the great I AM!
May our lives be evidence of Your goodness and righteousness. In this time of global pandemic, may we come before You as a nation, and repent in the power and presence of Your Spirit, and BELIEVE, expressing our individual faith, hope and trust in You through Jesus Christ.
Even as You go before us Lord, I offer this prayer to You, humbly thanking You for gathering my pleas of repentance. In Your Love and Patience, hear me for Jesus sake.
Lord, we are profoundly aware that we are at this critical point in our history because our nation has been moving away from You for decades . . .
. . . We have killed millions of innocent babies in the womb.
. . . We have killed millions of our elders in bed instead of praying for miracles.
. . . We have approved all manner of sexual perversions as a way of life.
. . . We have chosen cultural and secular idols and other gods over You.
. . . We have lied, cheated, and deceived many through our governmental institutions.
. . . We have failed to support fully the apple of Your eye, Israel.
We humbly seek Your forgiveness and repent of these treasonous acts before You.
We strive to change our thinking and our conduct but confess our weakness to do so.
We want to turn from our sin and seek Your saving grace. We deliberately want to choose to replace our sinful ways with Your Truth and Righteousness.
But in our pride and arrogance, in our human weakness, we confess our vanity and inability to seek you with all our devotion. O Lord, we need You for in You we find our life and strength, our hope and faith, our forgiveness and salvation.
We humbly turn to You and repent . . .
. . . We plead for Your Forgiveness.
. . . We plead for Your Forbearance.
. . . We plead for Your Mercy.
But for the faithful righteousness of 10, you saved a city long ago. Will you now save a nation once more?
Will you consider the heartfelt pleadings of Your people now?
Will You give us the chance to return to You with all our hearts?
We ask this of You now, knowing that there is much more work to be done in Your Name.
We pray You heal our land.
Empower Your people.
We renounce our personal and national sin strongholds under Your Name, under Your Blood, under Your Cross. Anoint us with your Word. Rain Your Truth down upon us.
With humble faith in the righteousness of my beloved Savior, I approach You now on behalf of my country, the country that once honored You, the country You founded through Your History and Your Miracles for Your Plan of Salvation.
Forgive us, Father . . .
Help each one of us, Abba, to be a part of Your redemptive plan in our beloved country.
Today.
I pray this in the Name above all names, the Name of Jesus, the One given all authority in heaven and on earth.
Hear me in this hour of need, O Lord, I pray . . .’
Amen and Amen!
Adapted from Pastor Jeff Daly: dayofrepentance1.org/jeffrey-daly/