A prayer inspired by reflection on Scripture from Leviticus, Exodus, the Psalms, Micah, the Gospels and Romans.
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O Heavenly Father,
You say,
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
Made by the hands of men.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,
Eyes, but cannot see;
They have ears, but cannot hear,
Nor is there breath in their mouths.
Those who make them will be like them,
And so will all who trust in them.
We have wandered, even chased, after other things, Father.
In our foolishness, we have thought ourselves wise.
We have left home with our inheritance wishing You were gone.
We have traversed to far off lands filled with false fulfillment.
Given the truth of God, we have exchanged it for a lie. We have traded the glory of the immortal Maker for images of that which is made.
We fill up on consumerism seeking more at others’ expense.
And it’s left us heartless.
We gorge ourselves on promiscuity seeking a new thrill.
And it’s left us ruthless.
We drown ourselves in blue light seeking attention and distractions.
And it’s left us senseless.
We sell ourselves to fear seeking to be safe and comfortable.
And it’s left us faithless.
In this far off place, we haven’t become more human, but less. Our ways haven’t been so wise. In our foolishness, we have become desensitized and dehumanized.
We have become like the things we have worshiped.
Father, bring us back home, back to Your house. Please, revive us again.
You are the Living God. You speak and see and hear. Lord, You breathe and give life.
Make us like you, O LORD. May we speak and see and hear. May we breathe and receive Your life.
Revive us to Your heart.
A heart that overflows with grace and truth, forgiveness and justice, unity and holiness.
A heart of love.
May there be a revival of the Father’s heart in us.
Help us to be perfect as You are perfect, for You call us to perfection.
Not a perfection of doing, but of being—of being like You. The perfection of Your character. The kind of perfection which is holy as you are holy, merciful as you are merciful, forgiving as you are forgiving, just as you are just.
For you are Yahweh…
…Yahweh, the gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet You do not leave the guilty unpunished.
May we be like You, Father. Forgive us for being heartless and ruthless, senseless and faithless.
May we be like You, Father. Fill us with Your heart.
In exchange for our senselessness, open our eyes to see as You see, to see the unseen.
Remove our ruthlessness and open our ears to hear as You hear, to hear the cries for mercy.
Forgive our faithlessness and open our mouths to speak as You speak, to speak truth and love.
Above all, take away our heartlessness and open our hearts to love as You love, to extend compassion and forgiveness, to seek justice and peace.
Help our unbelief. May we be full of faith once again acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with You instead of living God-lessly.
Father, bring us back home.
In the name of Christ our Redeemer,
Amen.
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May there be a revival of the Father’s heart in us.
Psalm 135v15-18, Romans 1v22-23, Romans 1v25, Luke 15v11-24, Romans 1v31, Leviticus 19v2, Matthew 5v48, Luke 6v36, Exodus 34v6-7, Micah 6v8
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Check out last week’s prayer: A With God Kind of Prayer
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