Daily Prayers Thursday, 8 September 2022
A reading from Psalm 51
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51: 1–10 NIV®
Dear God, we recognise that, without your help and guidance, we find ourselves doing the most regrettable things.
We are likely to put our own selfish desires before the needs of others.
We truly repent that we have sinned against you,
and ask that you forgive all our past misdeeds so long as we resolve never to do them again,
and to follow in the footsteps of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
whose life of service to others is the pattern that we must follow.
We resolve not to dwell on our past, but to look to the future and to live each new day as you would have us do.
Help us to see the ways that we can make the lives of those about us better,
be they friends, neighbours, family members, those we encounter in our daily activities,
and even the strangers that we pass in the street.
May we not be so preoccupied in our own affairs that we cannot see the difficulties faced by others.
We ask you for the grace to recognise the needs of others,
even when those needs are scarcely recognised by those who have them,
and to do our best to help them discreetly, not interfering or causing any embarrassment.
All good things come from you, and we wholeheartedly thank you for them.
We know that there is nothing that we can do even to begin to repay you directly,
but we can and must share the benefits and blessings that we have received from you with those about us.
We pray, too, that we do all that we can to build up the communities in which we live,
to help those we meet to recognise their value to you, that they are loved by you as much as anyone else.
May we recognise where there is discord and disagreement,
and give us the wisdom and patience to act or not act so that the issues may be resolved.
We gather these and all our prayers in the prayer that Jesus taught us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen
