Prayer of Repentance
“Then I
turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with
fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made
confession…”(Daniel 9:3-4a) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=daniel+9%3A2-19&version=ESV
“And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel” (2 Samuel 24:25)
“The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land…”(Ezekiel 22: 29-39a)
God calls us to stand in the gap to
Pray
Repent
Intercede
Especially in times of plaques and
pestilences
May we all
Repent
Plead to God for mercy
For Him to move His
Mighty
Powerful
Healing
Hand to
Heal
And to stop this pandemic
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
God calls us to collaborate with Him
He calls us to
Stand
by going down on our knees
To stand in the breach
To stand in the gap
To pray
To repent
To intercede
Daniel prayed in response to Jeremiah’s
prophecy
that the Jews would be in exile for 70
years
Daniel then confessed the sins of his
forefathers
And pleaded with God for mercy
Out of pride David numbered his
people
David chose as his punishment
for God to send a pestilence
When God out of His mercy stopped the
pestilence
David erected an altar to intercede
on behalf of the land
God responded and averted further
plaque from Israel
God told Ezekiel that
God was looking for an intercessor
To stand in the gap
On behalf of the sins of the
Israelites
When there was no one to stand in the
gap
God had to unleash His punishment
upon Judah and Israel
We all have fallen short of the glory
of God
We all have sinned
None of us is righteous
No not one
God has provided The Sin Bearer
In our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ
Who bore our sins and our punishments
Jesus
Stood
In
The
Gap
The gap between God’s righteousness
and our sinfulness
By dying on the cross
Now God calls for us to
Stand in the gap
To confess
Our own sins
The sins of our nation
The sins of our society
The sins of our culture
The sins of our present world
The sins of our forefathers
To take ownership of our own sins
Like David did
To take ownership of our forefather’s
sins
Like Daniel did
To stand in the gap
So the punishment due our society would
be averted
As God said to Ezekiel
Lord we have sinned
We have each turned to our own wicked
and selfish ways
We have rebelled against You and thumbed
our noses at You
We have not taken care of the earth You
entrusted us with
We have oppressed the needy and the
downtrodden
We have exacted or ignored injustices
We have neglected the poor the needy
and the vulnerable
whom are near and dear to Your heart
Lord we confess our sins
Turn us around Lord
Turn us back to You
Turn our gaze upon Your face
To fixate on You
To make You Preeminent
In our lives
In our nation
In our society
In our culture
In our world
To seek Your Kingdom and Your Righteousness
That Your Name be glorified and
lifted up
Your Name be a shining BEACON
In this tumultuous and suffering time
of
World wide pandemic
For You are the LIGHT of the world
And You have come to give us abundant
life
Even when we hear of and see death all around
Even during this pandemic
May Your Kingdom come
May Your Will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven
May Your Name be lifted high
For Yours is the Kingdom
And the Glory
And the Power
Forever and ever
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Amen
and AMEN
