Previous Page REPENTANCE COLLECTION REPENTANCE O Father we gaze into the face of Jesus and know that the light He brought to earth should be producing in us all kinds of fruit we should be declaring what is right we should be working hard for justice we should be praying for those who need you we should be extending a healing hand to the broken hearted But Lord instead we find ourselves resting in the darkness right beside those who need the light we have become so accustomed to the ways of our society that we hardly notice darkness anymore In fact we are not sure your light is even needed anymore So Lord we ask that you would forgive us for our complacency Convict us Lord that your world still needs your light free us to intrude into the dark places around us that we will reach out to all with your justice and righteousness your words and actions ---------------------------------------------------------- - "Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and call it Pluralism. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will and to openly ask these things in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!" --------------------------------------------------------------- Father I abandon myself into your hands do with me what you will whatever you may do, I thank you I am ready for all, I accept all Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures I wish no more than this Lord Into your hands I commend my soul I offer it to you with all my heart for I love you O Lord and so need to give myself to surrender myself into your hands without reserve and with boundless confidence For you are my Father Charles de Foucauld -------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for Your love and kindness toward me. It is Your kindness that has led me to repentance, turning from all my sins and turning to you. I admit that I have allowed bitterness and resentment to grow in me, separating me from others and You, Father. At times, I have forgotten this unforgiveness in my heart. This unforgiveness festers deep within me, at times beyond my conscious reach. This affects every aspect of my life and gives the enemy a right to torment me as stated in Matthew 18. I confess that this unforgiveness and bitterness is affecting my life and relationships today. Because of past hurts, I acknowledge the inability to love or trust others. I understand that forgiveness is not an emotion but an act of my will. I now choose to exercise my will to forgive others as You, Father, have forgiven me. Father, I know that You are a searcher of the heart. I ask You to search my heart. Reveal to me any hidden and secret unforgiveness or bitterness toward others that have hurt or offended me. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would bring everything to our remembrance. Dear Holy Spirit, I am asking You to bring to my remembrance anyone I need to forgive. I choose not to be ruled by a spirit of bitterness. I repent, forgive and release these people right now. Heavenly Father, forgive me and restore me as I forgive those who have hurt and offended me. In Jesus' name. Amen. --------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Heavenly Father, Your word says that a proud and arrogant attitude goes before stumbling. I know that You hate a proud or arrogant spirit. I want to please You, Father. I do not want to stumble or bring trouble on myself and others. I know at times, in action and attitude, I have had a proud spirit. Because of my woundedness, I believed I knew what was best for me. In the past, I tried to run my life by my own power and resources. I have looked to my own intellect, ability and strength to solve my problems. Jesus, I have not denied myself, picked up my cross daily and followed You. Your word tells me that it is not by might, nor by power, but by Your Spirit that the victory comes. I have opened the door and given Satan a place in my life because of this spirit of pride. I now repent of this pride. I also renounce this effort to be self-sufficient and not trusting or coming to You, Heavenly Father. I now come to You, humbling myself, and put my trust in Your mercy and love. It is Your kindness that has led me to repentance. I now cancel all ground or openings to Satan in my life. I proclaim that I am covered with the Blood of Jesus. I proclaim that you, Satan, have no part in me or power over me. I am a child of God and the Holy Spirit is living within me. I hereby affirm my dependence on You, Father and the work of Your Holy Spirit. I ask for Your guidance, wisdom and power to renew my mind and walk according to the Spirit. I ask for Your grace to help me abide in Jesus and live a life pleasing to You. In Jesus name. Amen. ---------------------------------------------------------- Dear Heavenly Father, You have told me in Romans 13:14 to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. I acknowledge that I have given in to the temptation to gratify the desires of my flesh. I understand that lust is saying, "I must have this at once." Much of this battle is in my mind and thought life. Because of my loneliness and inner pain at times, I have entertained lustful fantasies in my mind and thoughts. This only increased the desire to gratify my flesh. I ask You, Father, to reveal to me any ways in which I have been disobedient and grieved the Holy Spirit. Father, I come before your presence to acknowledge these sins that I might be freed from their bondage. I also ask you to reveal to me any other sins that come to my mind that I need to repent of. I now confess these sins to You and present my body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto you. I renounce the lie that my body is dirty or unacceptable in any way because of my past sexual experiences. I now acknowledge through the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that I am forgiven, totally cleansed and accepted in Your sight. I choose to walk by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen. ------------------------------------------------------------- “Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.” -------------------------------------------------------- Today, Creator, grant me the courage and the will to forgive the people I love the most. Help me to forgive every injustice I feel in my mind, and to love other people unconditionally. I know the only way to heal all the pain in my heart is through forgiveness. Today, Creator, strengthen my will to forgive anyone who has hurt me, even if I believe the offense is unforgivable. I know that forgiveness is an act of self-love. Help me to love myself so much that I forgive every offense. Let me choose forgiveness because I don’t want to suffer every time I remember the offense. Today, Creator, help me to heal all the guilt in my heart by accepting the forgiveness of everyone I have hurt in my life. Help me to sincerely recognize the mistakes I have made out of ignorance, and give me the wisdom and determination to refrain from making the same mistakes. I know that love and forgiveness will transform every relationship in the most positive way. Thank you, Creator, for giving me the capacity to love and forgive. Today I open my heart to love and forgiveness, so that I can share my love without fear. Today I will enjoy a reunion with the people I love most. Amen. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Great God who has told us VENGEANCE IS MINE save us from ourselves save us from the vengeance in our hearts and the acid in our souls save us from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt to punish as we have been punished and to terrorize as we have been terrorized give us the strength it takes to listen rather than judge to trust rather than to fear to try again and again to make peace even when peace eludes us we ask O god for the grace to be our best selves we ask for the vision to be builders of the human community rather than its destroyers we ask for humility as a people to understand the fears and hopes of other people we ask for the love it takes to bequeath to the children of the world to come more than the failures of our own making we ask for the heart it takes to care for all the peoples of Afghanistan, and Iraq and of Palestine and Israel as well as for ourselves give us the depth of soul O GOD to constrain our might to resist the temptations of power to refuse to attack the attack biter to understand that vengeance begets violence and to bring peace not war where ever we go for you O GOD have been merciful to us For you O GOD have been patient with us For you O GOD have been gracious to us and so may we be merciful and patient and gracious and trusting with these others who you also love this we ask through JESUS the one without vengeance in his heart this we ask forever and ever AMEN ---------------------------------------------------------------