“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. 

Joel 2:12-13

Oh Lord, You are truly gracious and merciful, patient with us beyond reason and compassionate though we’ve done nothing to deserve it. Your grace is a gift that we prize. Help us to rejoice in it above all else!

Thank You for repaying our rebellion with mercy, our wickedness with kindness, and our animosity with forgiveness. You are our King and our lives are Yours! May we forever praise Your name.

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

Exodus 34:6

When we fail You, Lord, as we are prone to do, help us to return to You fully, holding nothing back. Keep us from believing the enemy’s lies that once we have erred, we may as well continue in error. Instead, Lord, we ask for Godly grief over our sin which leads us to repentance each and every time.

Let our lives reflect a continual turning away from sin and turning to our God, submitting ourselves again and again before the Throne of Grace. As we learn to walk humbly before You, teach us not to worry about what other people think.

If our repentance looks foolish to others, so be it. If we appear prudish or old-fashioned or whatever else, Lord, let us only be concerned about whether our thoughts and actions are pleasing to You. Help us to discern what those things are and then walk in them. 

…so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Colossians 1:10

May we truly become pleasers of God and not of mankind; walking in Truth and not the wisdom of the world which is foolishness in Your eyes. Train our hearts to trust Your ways – the ancient and eternal paths which have been tested and proven by generations before us. Even more, train our hearts to trust the narrow Way which has been tested and proven in and by our Lord Jesus Christ.

As our trust in You deepens and our ways begin to look different to those around us, help us to share with confidence the reason for the hope that is in us. May our words match our deeds and may it all bring glory and honor to You, our King, amen.