brokenness and prayer

One of the marks of the lenten season - this journey toward Christ’s resurrection - is a recognition, a radical awareness of our brokenness, our need for God. Here is a prayer posted on the the refuge blog.

• pray it
• reflect on it.
• let the words sink in.
• let God speak to the deep places of our parched hearts.
• let Him sweep out what needs sweeping.

God, all-loving and all-caring,
We come before you with hesitant steps and uncertain motives
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

We want to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated
And uncover the places where we have strayed from your truth
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

We ask for courage to open our eyes and unstop our ears
That we may be aware of all that distracts us from a whole-hearted commitment to Christ
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

We want to see ourselves as you do and live our lives as you intended
Expose in us the empty and barren places where we have not allowed you to enter
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

Reveal to us our half-hearted struggles,
Where we have been indifferent to the pain and suffering of others
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a right Spirit within us
Nurture the faint stirrings of new life where your spirit has taken root and begun to grow
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.

We long for your healing light to transform us into the image of your Son,
For you alone can bring new life and make us whole
In your mercy, shine upon us, O God, and make our path clear before us.

Pause to remind yourself of your own brokenness and need for repentance.

God of mercy, come
Into the hidden places of our hearts.
Christ of compassion, come
Into the broken places of our world.

Spirit of life, come
Into the polluted places of our lives.
Forgive us, heal us, redeem us,
Lead us from death to eternal life.