Drawing Close to God

On this first Sunday of Lent 2023 as we focus on prayer – which in fact is one of the 3 spiritual disciplines we are encouraged to consider during these 40 days as we seek to draw closer to Jesus – fasting, prayer, and giving.

We begin with a prayer of confession and request for reconciliation.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

Psalm 51:1

O Lord, who has mercy upon all, take away from us our sins.  Bring us alive again by the power of Your Holy Spirit.  Take our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh so we love You and delight to follow You. Amen

And then we acknowledge that we know some things and need faith to trust God’s goodness and His presence with us while we wait for what we don’t yet understand to be revealed.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

Loving God, You are the comforter and teacher of all who look to you.  Increase in us our desire for You and our delight in You.  Confirm our faith as we put our hope in Your Word.  Help us to understand Your promises and to wait patiently for You to act in your good and perfect time.  Amen

So many thoughts and memories run around in our heads and hearts and it is good to have these sifted and sorted out. 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Philippians 4:8

Heavenly Father, we want to get rid of anything that doesn’t fit in those categories that You have set for the kinds of thoughts we should have.  Give us minds that forget past wrongs done to us and past failures already forgiven by You.  Stir up our memories of kind words, generous actions, loving interactions that You’ve gifted to us along our journey.  Help us to fix our thoughts on Jesus who endured all sorts of suffering and even death for us.

And then we conclude today with a prayer I was introduced to back in the 1970’s that is still very meaningful for me today, particularly in this season of Lent as we seek to draw closer to God.

Take Lord and receive, all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all I have and call my own.  You have given all to me.  To You, Lord, I return it.  Everything is Yours, do with it what You will.  Give me only Your love and Your grace; that is enough for me.  (Ignatius of Loyola)