O Loving and Gracious God, You have blessed me throughout my life, in all seasons and, because of Your paternal care, You’ve supplied me with all of my needs. Remove my stubbornness so that I can become obedient and responsive when You speak. Help me understand and discern Your will and purpose for my life. Give me the courage to follow You and stand up for things that are holy and right. Help me avoid foolish mistakes and the occasions of sin. When I am burdened with the effects of sin and wrong-doing, help me cleanse myself through repentance and confession. I want to accept responsibility for my sins and, with Your help, overcome the power they have in influencing my behaviors. I want to trade in my sorrow for having failed You for the joy of successfully escaping the traps and pitfalls set by my enemy. I know that if I am willing to submit myself to You and obey Your commands … goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
I often wonder why I am so easily led astray by sin and, in particular, the ones that I repeat often. I can come to only one conclusion … I’ve not put Your will before mine. It is so hard to break through learned, bad behaviors to walk in Your light. It is so much easier to go with the flow of my inclinations to violate Your laws because I am not yet ready to put forth the effort or accept the evilness of what I do as something I need to deal with seriously. I must come to understand that each time I sin I am pushing away the best thing that ever happened to me. Come to my aid and unlock the shackles that restrain me from being totally committed to You and obeying Your commands. Create in me a new heart that detests evil and will no longer allow me to co-exist with sin. I am a child of the light. Help me flee from darkness so I can be close to You.
O Forgiving and Compassionate God, lead me out of the wilderness of my human weakness and deliver me into the promised land where I am on top of my sins instead of them being on top of me. Help me to see the horror of the sins I commit and make me be so repulsed that I never want to do them again. Give me the strength and courage to overcome the lust of my eyes, the cravings of my fallen flesh and the pride that pulls me away from You and toward selfishness. I’ve come to realize that being of the world is not only an external action, but starts in my inner man and is characterized by desires to gratify my physical yearnings, bowing at the feet of materialism and obsessions with status and acceptance by others. Fill me with a spirit of self-control, generosity and humility. Help me accept Your values, flee from evil and always seek Your face. In so-doing, I will be able to shun sin and evil and walk in holiness. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Hebrews 12:1 … let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and run with perseverance the race marked out for us.