Do you know that it is possible for us to miss seeing the ‘wickedness’ in our own hearts and lives?
‘No way!’ We hear you say. Like you, we would love to think about ourselves as people with the best intentions towards other people but a close examination sometimes proves otherwise.
Let’s take for example ‘The Prayers for Nigeria.’
Often times, when we pray for Nigeria, we assume a posture of humility which is the right thing to do. However, we repent on behalf of the entire nation and specifically for ‘those people’ who have sinned against God and humanity. While praying, we leave out one important category of people, ‘OURSELVES!’
‘But I have done nothing,’ you argue.
We had the same argument until the Lord highlighted 9 areas where we failed to represent well as citizens of His kingdom and his representatives here on earth:
- The wickedness of Sodom which is the failure to welcome strangers and help people who are in need – Ezekiel 16:49
- The wickedness of serving the religion instead of serving God – Micah 6:6-8
- The sin of exclusion as failure to care for those who are in need – Matthew 25:31-46
- The sin of economic injustice and inequality, exploitation of the poor – Amos 2:6-8
- The wickedness and the sin of violence, using violence to destroy and dominate – Matthew 26:52The wickedness and the sin of consumerism, defining our values based on the things we can own and wealth we can control – Matthew 6: 19- 21
- The wickedness and the sin of arrogance – James 4:11-16
- The wickedness and the sin of judging and looking down on people who are less than we are – Matthew 7: 1-5
- The wickedness and the sin of control and the desire to lord it over others and maintain total control – Matthew 20: 20-28
- The wickedness and the sin of hating the enemy, bowing to a culture of hate and contempt of human beings we believe are eminently with us – Matthew 5:43
Today, the Father calls us to true repentance.
More than just humbling ourselves, we need to pay attention to how much more engaging and encompassing the love He wants us to show is. If we think loving only the people we know is all that we have been called to do, we will only succeed at fulfilling a minute fraction of what He desires of us.
PRAYER OF REPENTANCE
- Lord, we are reminded of how vast your love is and how little of it we can comprehend with our human minds. We come before you and we acknowledge that we are children before you and this puts us in a good position to learn of you and to understand that we are just starting to comprehend what you have done for us through Christ Jesus.
- We repent for not welcoming the strangers you brought us in contact with – the strangers who are lost and without hope, outside our economic and social circle. We ask that you forgive us for being too busy to see them, for not being your hands and feet in those moments.
- We repent for worshipping religion in place of serving you. We repent for the sin of religion. We put off the cold comfort of self-deception and ignorance.
- We repent for leaving behind the most important thing of all, LOVE. Love for you, love for one another, love for people who we think are unlovable. We ask that you teach us how to LOVE.
- Teach us to become selfless. Teach us not to do only the things that are convenient for us.
- Grant us today a renewed heart and mind that we will be your true representatives here on earth.
This Blog Post was inspired by Mrs Grace Yesufu
