As I've mentioned, part of our church's Sunday morning liturgy includes a congregational reading of a public confession of sin. Each week sees a new confession and each week I marvel anew at the many ways we, as the Church, and me, the individual, fail to live out our faith. I thought this week's confession hit home especially hard (and I heard others in my Sunday School class indicate they were also convicted) so I thought I would share it here.
Our Father, we recognize when we pray "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, " there are many hidden conditions we have kept in our hearts. We do not want your will to be done if it involves suffering; we do not want Your will to be done if it involves sacrifice; we do not want Your will to be done if our reputation is at risk; we do not want Your will to be done if it means being placed in a position of deep dependence. Lord, forgive us, because in all of these things we reveal our own self-worth; we think we deserve better, so we presume upon Your Fatherly wisdom which knows what is truly best for Your kingdom and, therefore, for us as well. Father, we confess to You that we confuse prosperity with Providence, success with blessing, evil with suffering. We pray You would give us a portion of the humility of our Savior, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant. We praise You, O God, for His humiliation was for our greatest good. Humble us, therefore, that we may also be instruments of Your will.
Amen.
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