Our Father in heaven, God almighty. Creator of the heavens and the earth. Our loving God, showing mercy to thousands of those who love you and keep your commandments. Holy is your name. A strong refuge for your children is your name. Hallowed be your name. Father, we have sinned against you by choosing our own way instead of yours. When the Spirit said the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God, we have persisted in our wrath. When the Spirit said you must not let the sun go down on your anger, many suns have gone down and many moons come up on our anger as a people. None of us Lord can truly say we have given our brothers the other cheek. None of us can truly say we are like sheep, dumb before its shearers as our Lord was. We have all seen how self is still ruling our hearts and not subject to the Holy Spirit. We have behaved as wolves, tearing each other up, using your resources to call your name in vain. Father, you do not see as man sees. You judge the motives and the intents of the heart. We are like white-washed tombs full of dead mens bones and this crisis has revealed the rot in us. It has laid us bare. We are not what we have appeared to be. How do we love you when we hate our brothers and kill them with our words and merciless acts (that are practiced by those who do not fear You). Yet we call ourselves by your Name. Forgive us for we have trampled on your laws: 1. As young people we have spoken to the elderly with disrespect 2. We have stolen the dignity and respect due to many through our expose on public platform, 3. We have killed many people in others minds, especially the image of your church to our non-adventist friends and family. 4. We have borne false witness against one another and against the mission of the church which is to spread the gospel to all the world. 5. We have coveted leadership positions and done all in our power to take them and keep them. 6. We have lied to your church repeatedly about our motives, which you alone can read. Father forgive us. Revive us. Renew us after the image of your Son, Jesus. Reform us into the same. The material we have been using in our character building has been wood and hay, that has not withstood the fire which has been testing our Christian profession. As you rebuild us, o Lord, hide our nakedness from the world, even as you cleanse us Lord. For your names sake. The implications and the results of our actions can only be fully understood in the by and by. For now, we have a mission to complete. We have disciples to make. We dont want to travel land and sea to win souls to make them twice the sons of hell as did the Pharisees and maybe as we are, Lord. Make us disciples that follow Jesus so that the disciples we make may know only how to follow Him. Have mercy on your church Father. We are almost home. We want to make it home. Save us from ourselves. Speak peace to our troubled hearts. Unite the church once more, father, under the banner of the cross. Help our leaders to be faithful in following you and you alone. Not their desires or lusts or man. But you. Help us as a church to pray for them, to support them and to also to do the work you have given us so that the end may come and we can go home. Please Father, hear our prayer today. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 10:08:45 +0000