Here’s
a prayer of commitment from the Love God,
Love Neighbor website.
Prayer
(inspired by Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23)
Today,
Lord,
I
once again take up my cross and follow you.
Forgive
me for choosing daily to be complacent.
Happiness
has been my god and I have believed I’m entitled to it.
Forgive
me for all the excuses I have
for
not responding to you immediately, with urgency, and sacrificially.
Forgive
me for complaining about being bored as I sit and do nothing.
Forgive
me for the times I have tried to make
carrying
my cross more comfortable.
I
have been too concerned with finding things to make it easier;
gadgets
and toys to make my cross lighter, smaller, and cushioned.
Forgive
me for making excuses
and
not going with you because I was worried about
my
health, safety, reputation, loneliness, financial security,
and
ability to handle extreme weather and getting dirty.
Forgive
me for focusing on my comfort rather than my character.
Forgive
me for the times I have not followed you
because
it wasn’t convenient.
I
didn’t want to go out of my way to see the needs around me
because
then I would feel guilty for not doing something about them.
Forgive
me for not loving my neighbors–
I
don’t even know their names.
Forgive
me for trying to pacify my conscience
by
giving just enough to feel good about myself
but
not enough to inconvenience my lifestyle.
Today,
Lord,
I
once again take up my cross and follow you.
Shake
me of my complacency;
I
want to live daily with an urgency
to
radically be the change you call me to be.
Strip
me of my comforts;
may
my love for you be a driving force to live with joyful surrender.
Scratch
out my schedule;
I
don’t want my circumstances or timeline
to
influence my dedication and obedience
to
take up my cross and follow you.
Here
I am; Send Me.
May
your word pour out of me like water to the thirsty,
and
may my life be full of the fruit of the Spirit.
All
I am and have I give back to you with open hands
knowing
that all my needs you will meet as I go with you.
Today
I take up my cross and follow you.
In
Jesus Name, Amen.
~
excerpted from a prayer by Hila, and posted on the Love God, Love Neighbour website. http://www.lovegodloveneighbor.com/take-up-my-cross-and-follow-you-a-prayer-by-hila/
