A Prayer of Return
“Yet even now,’ says the LORD, ‘return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.’ Return to the LORD, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.”
Joel 2:12–13
You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. We praise You for Your display of loving-kindness towards us. Thank You for not dealing with us according to our sins but according to Your great mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. We come to You with our whole hearts and not with any external merits on our own.
Holy Spirit, reveal the parts of our hearts that we have not surrendered completely to You and illuminate the sins we frequently ignore. In mourning and weeping, we repent of our sins and ask that You renew us again according to Your chesed — Your covenant love and kindness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.