O LORD, my God.
You are great and powerful, seated in the heavenly places You spoke the world into existance and created a beauty incomprehensible that could not be reproduced by any man. You created the mountains, strong and immovable- yet You are stronger still and more steadfast than they. You are holy and perfect, everything You do is just and in You I can place my trust.
My God, You are so vast and amazing that I cannot understand it. O LORD, forgive me for the times that I forget who You are or try to make You smaller into something I can understand. You made the heavens and the earth and You are Lord over it all, in You do all things hold together. With those same hands that created the entire universe, Father God, You have promised to hold my hand and protect my heart. You are my Father and my Creator; it was You who formed me in my mother's womb and it is You who blessed me with all the gifts and abilities that I have. You have been with me from the beginning; You chose me and set me aside for your purposes. When I look at my life I see Your sovereignty and Your grace amidst the mess of my mistakes and sinfulness; in the middle of the heartbreaks and the tears You were there, You cradled me in your arms and gave me peace.
But LORD, I do not deserve it. I don't deserve the love You ceaselessly pour out upon me, the grace and mercy that flows through my life like a mighty river. I am imperfect and sinful; unworthy of anything that You have to give me except that which I relly do deserve: death. But despite everything, my stubbornness and sin, all the times I've turned my back on You, You love me. And because You love me You couldn't let me die; You couldn't let me be eternally separated from you, and so You sent your perfect son, the Lord Jesus Christ, on the biggest rescue mission in eternity to die in my place. He took the humiliation that I deserved, the flogging and the beating, he carried the cross that should have been mine and died upon it to pay the price for my sins. Father, I am incapable of even understanding what that really means. Your son, who is holy and perfect and without any sin chose to die for me so that I may know what it means to be reconciled to You- but death did not defeat him! He overcame the grave and defeated sin by rising from the dead so that I may be free from being a slave to sin and instead be a slave to righteousness; that I may be transferred from the dominion of darkness to the Kingdom of Light!
Father, You have blessed me with so much. Through Jesus Christ, I have a joy and a peace that are everlasting and steadfast through any circumstance; I have the assurance of knowing that I am no longer under the law but under grace, and I can rejoice in the knowledge that You are in control of my life and that all things will work together for good. Without You, God, I can do nothing, but through You I can do all things!
LORD, may You be glorified in my life. May I truly be able to say that to live is Christ and to die is gain. God, my desire is to see Your name glorified on this earth, to spread the news of freedom from sin and to sing Your praises with every fibre of my being. My God, what a privilege it is to serve You; how amazing that a seemingly insignificant sinner could be used by the Creator of the universe! Praise be to the name that is above all others, may everything that has breath praise the LORD of all creation!
Father, I'm sorry for all the ways I let You down and put things above You. Thank You that you have promised me that You're not finished me yet, that You will complete the work that You have started in me and continue to shape and fashion me into the likeness of your son. Teach me Your ways, O God, and lead me in paths of righteousness for Your name's sake.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Your will be done,
AMEN.
