A Prayer To Find Cleansing So We Are No Longer Sin-Super-Spreaders

If ever there was a time where we realized that we do not live in an isolated world, this season of the pandemic is showing that clearly to us.  Our choices and actions have an impact far beyond our own person or our own little family circle.  This invisible virus is all around us and our choices for who we meet with, what things we wear or don't wear, what we touch, how strongly we speak whether we cough or not, and how close we approach others all have significant impact on our health, the health of those we love, and the quality of life all of us get to experience in the wider community.

This virus, with it's spread not being seen for days after we are in contact with someone who is contagious, is such a clear picture of the impact of sin in our own lives and in it's spread across our communities and around the world.

Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. Romans 5:18-19

One person infected with sin sent the deadly effects in multiplied waves throughout the human race.  We hear health officials speak of trying to keep the COVID-19 spread rate to 1% or less in order to flatten the virus curve and to avoid exponential virus spread in the community.  Well, the spread for sin is 100%.  It is way out of human control and we certainly seem to see the quickening pace of moral decay all around us. 

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 8:20-21

And so today we pray to give thanks to God for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Father, just as the spread of the COVID-19 virus seems to go up in this second wave of the pandemic with numbers that could easily frighten us, we give thanks that You are with us to bring comfort, wisdom, and healing.  We're so grateful that our few years here on this earth - and for some those years cut even shorter by this virus - are not all there is to life when we are in relationship with You. 

Thank You for the gift of eternal life that lifts us up beyond the reach of the deadly virus around us in our community.  We confess that we sin through our own fault, through what we do and through what we leave undone that we should do.  We have not loved You with our whole hearts as we ought and certainly have not loved our neighbour as ourselves.  We ask today for Your mercy and forgiveness won for us by the Lord Jesus when He took our place on the cross and died for our sins.  Forgive us.  Cleanse us.  Renew a right spirit in us, we pray. 

Fill us with Your grace so that becomes the defining feature or our lives today.  You promise us grace in such abundance that

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  2 Corinthians 9:8

We pray these words often and yet they are so dramatically different from what we can imagine based on our circumstances and our own character weaknesses.  Our history isn’t great.  It's full of flaws and stumbles.  But Your history is greater because it is one of mercy and grace and of lifting us up over and over again with tenderness and love when we turn to You, in our suffering - some of it the result of our own flawed choices - and call out for Your saving help. We thank You for Your promise that if we would confess our sin and turn from it to You, You would cleanse us and reconcile us to Yourself in love. 

Today we have confessed our sin and our need of You and so now we receive Your forgivenss, Your pardon, Your peace, and we affirm that our sins are gone.  As clearly as a negative test for COVID-19 shows a person no longer contagious for the disease, so Your faithful words of forgiveness announce to us and the world that we are forgiven and washed clean in the blood of the Lord Jesus. 

And so we offer this simple prayer today with faith in Your goodness, and thanks for Your generous grace on our behalf.  Amen