In this world of trials, our trust in God can falter—especially when it appears as though Satan may be winning. The following prayer from this month’s featured resource Streams of Mercy rightly tunes our hearts to boast in the sweet name of our Savior:
Heavenly Father,
We confess with our lips the blessedness of seeking your kingdom first, but our lives proclaim a different story. We sing the wonders of your love, but we grumble and complain when our desires are not fulfilled. We say that we follow a loving God who does what is best for us, but often we want to be our own gods, running the world in our own way. We declare that we long for the coming of your kingdom, but often we are more interested in the gifts that you give us than we are in you. Instead of following you, we are prone to follow our wisdom, our desires, and our own kingdoms. Father, forgive us for this prideful selfishness.
Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the King who reigns in truth and love. You showed us this love by becoming one of us and following your Father’s will in our place. When Satan tempted you with the glory and power of your own kingdom, you rebuked him and followed the path of suffering instead. You laid down your life so that we could flourish in your kingdom forever. Thank you for this disarming kindness and love.
Holy Spirit, grow in us the desire to follow you, because we are still sinful, blind and easily distracted. Help us to see the glory of your kingdom and to love it more than we love our own. Delight our hearts with your goodness until we bow our will to your joyfully. Give us grace to stand in obedience, knowing that without you we can do nothing. Give us grace to run to you when we fall, knowing that in Christ we have all the righteousness we will ever need.
What a wonderful privilege to approach our King in prayer! Purchase a copy of Streams of Mercy: Prayers of Confession and Celebration today.
Excerpt taken from pp. 132–33 of Streams of Mercy by Barbara Duguid, ed. by Iain Duguid (ISBN 987-1-62995-342-7) with permission from P&R Publishing Co., PO Box 817, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865 (www.prpbooks.com).