Cavities

Lord,

Just as the dentist today will check for cavities and clean my teeth, check me for iniquity and make me whole.  Make me not fear the drill or any pain in my soul because anything which is displeasing to you needs to go, regardless of how unpleasant it will be.

Help me to want only you, Lord.

Help me to rejoice in this day that you have made and only see the glory you have put there in it.

Help me to find the hidden joys that must be found rather than openly available.

Amen

The Crowd

Lord,

Please help me avoid to sin.  Sometimes I sin only because I am with a group of people who are doing something wrong.  I tell myself that this is the reason for my own sin, but there is always more to it than that.

I sin because there is something else in my mind or in my being that seeks something/someone other than You.  Help me to keep my mind trained and focused on You. Help me to constantly reach for You.

Amen

The Pit

Lord,

When I am faced with choices that would cause me to fall into the pit, help me to choose You instead.

And if I do choose other things, other attentions, or other beings over You, please help me not to be crushed by the weight of sin but rather to turn back to You, calling out your name for safe delivery home. 

I know, Lord Jesus, that you heal my soul when I return to You.  My mind and my body sometimes are left broken.  Help me to use that brokenness for further healing, learning, and to turn them inward so that I realize that it is in my hurts that I am most fortunate to be able to cling to You. 

Amen

Trampled Gems

Lord,

Let me not walk by someone who has been trampled underfoot

and mistake that person for what he or she truly is: my brother or sister in your love.

It is too easy to accidentally or somewhat purposely turn my eyes to things other than You.  When I do, I fail to notice the gems around me.  Let me never crush them, accidentally, purposely, or by sins of omission.

Amen

Keeping Watch

Lord,

Please help me with the ability to keep watch. I need to keep watch for You, but I also need to keep watch so that when darkness approaches, I can see with opened eyes the temptation for what it truly is.

Help me to seek this task with humility.

And help me to never be so stuck in my journey to think that I must always know the answers.  Let me have the understanding of when to seek help from others, no matter how hard it might be to do so.

Amen

Seeing What's Hiding

Lord,

Help me to see the good that sometimes hides.  Give me eyes to see it, for it is so much easier to sink into sadness than to always look for the good in others and the good you have placed within me.  Help me to turn the leaves over to see it and be willing to stir up my mind to never settle for sadness when You mean for me to see something else.

Help me to remember that I am a sinner and never better than anyone else.

Help me to learn how to reach out, even when it hurts.  Help me to also respect other people's space.

Lord,

Purge from me all those things that keep me from clinging to You, trusting You, and seeing You in others.  Purge from me all those things that keep me from treating everyone as if they were You.

Help me to see that no one is a waste of time because everyone was created by You, and You seek everyone to choose to be near You.

Amen

Goodbye

Lord,

Help me to say goodbye to a friend who is leaving my life.  Help me to let go when people tell me they need space.

Help me to listen to people and not just act and react the way I think they need help but rather to listen to what they are telling me regarding what they want or need.

Help me to discern what You are calling me to do.

Thank You for your forgiveness and healing.  I need it often for I fall often.

Help me to stand against darkness and put it behind me.

But if and when I fail, for I am a flawed person, help me to continually come back to You for healing.  Help me to come back to You as soon as I can, to seek You and to call out to You when You are near.

Help me to see You and to look for You everywhere, especially in other people around me.

Amen

Forgiveness

Lord,

Heal me.  When sin tears a hole in my heart as it so often does, whisper in my ear to remind me that I all need to do is seek your forgiveness.

Make me whole again so that I can shine vibrantly for You to others.

The stain of sin still marks me as I walk this earth but your forgiveness makes me whole in the way possible while still here.  Help me to remember to continually seek forgiveness and to realize that I am so many times at fault.  But, through your mercy, I can get up again to sing your praises. 

I see your breath everywhere. 

For it surrounds me. 

When You move my heart I cannot help but see you in every glance.

Your whisper is so subtle yet so pronounced that I must always listen for it. 

Speak to my heart, oh my Lord and God, for You are marvelous indeed. 

Reach down and touch me with your forgiveness. 

And help me to take that forgiveness and extend it to those around me who hurt me.

Help me Lord Jesus to always see that you are near, even in my day to day endeavors.

Amen