Let us speak to the heart of this struggle with compassion and truth. This is a prayer, a lament, and a declaration of hope for the one who feels trapped by habit.
---
For the Habitual Sinner
Again. The same familiar failure,the same fall, The same old sin that stands both strong and tall. I swore it would be different this new day, But once again,I’ve stumbled from the way.
I am a slave to what I claim to hate, A prisoner to my own compromised state. The want is willing,but the flesh is weak, A confession that I am too ashamed to speak.
O God, be merciful to me, again, To this repeat offender,bound by sin. Not just for one large failure,long ago, But for the thousand small ones that I know.
If we claim to be without our sin's dark night, We simply deceive ourselves; we hide the light. But if we will confess,You are so just To forgive,and in Your returning trust.
The righteous fall—a seven times? And more? But Your grace is a never-closing door. There is no magic prayer,no special key, Just my collapse upon Your sovereignty.
So I bring You not my strength, but my despair, My total,utter inability to care Enough to stop.I have no plea but Christ, The One for whom my soul was sacrificed.
Break the chain, Lord. Shatter the desire. Set this habitual heart on fire With a hotter,holier, deeper flame Than any fleeting,earthly, passing shame.
Renew my mind. Transform my inward part. Take this stubborn,habitual, broken heart. And make Your power perfect in this need, From this bondage,Lord, I pray, be freed.
---
Scriptures of Promise and Hope:
This prayer is built on the reality that the struggle you describe is common to humanity, but God has provided a way through it.
· 1 John 1:8-9 (The Promise of Confession): "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." This is the first and continual step. God's forgiveness is not a one-time coupon; it is His faithful character.
· Proverbs 24:16 (The Hope of Getting Up): "for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again..." Righteousness is not about never falling; it is about always getting back up through His grace.
· Romans 7:15-20 (Paul's Same Struggle): "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." You are in good company. Even the apostle Paul fought a war within himself.
· 2 Corinthians 12:9 (Strength in Weakness): "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" Your felt weakness is not a barrier to God; it is the very platform upon which He displays His power.
· Philippians 1:6 (The Promise of Completion): "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Your sanctification is God's work. Your job is to cooperate, to confess, and to keep turning back to Him. He will finish what He started.
A practical step: Beyond prayer, consider what triggers the habit. Ask God for wisdom and strategies to "flee" (1 Corinthians 6:18) and to replace the sinful habit with a godly one. You are not alone in this fight.
No comments:
Post a Comment