Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:
Most
of you hearing or reading this today have heard of “the Sinners Prayer.” The
late evangelist Billy Graham would ask people to come forward at his rallies
and say the prayer that went something like this:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your
forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from
my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and
follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen.”
Spoken
from the heart, this is a powerful prayer, acknowledging our own sinfulness,
and the price that Jesus paid to forgive our sins. It also expresses our desire
to repent (turn from our sins) and follow Jesus as we invite Him to be the
Lord of our life.
This
morning, as I was reading in the Book of Hosea, I stumbled across a couple of
verses that might be called the “original; sinners prayer.” Follow along with
me and see if you don’t agree.
Ho
14:1 O Israel, return to the LORD your God, For you have stumbled because of
your iniquity; (This prayer is for the backslidden, those who
have walked away from the faith, and are caught up in sin. God invites them here
to “return” to the Lord
2 Take words with you, When
you return, take words with you! Say a prayer! A sinner’s prayer! And return
to the LORD. Say to Him, "Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, (By
Your grace, forgive our sins!) For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride
on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, You are our gods.'
(We acknowledge that we are not saved by our
good works) For in You the fatherless
finds mercy." (We rely solely on
Your mercy. Amen.
The
whole prayer may sound something lie this: Father God, I am a sinner who has
strayed away from You and I am in need of Your forgiveness. I acknowledge my
helpless estate and plead for Your mercy and grace. By Your mercy forgive me of
my sins. Help me to return to You! In Jesus name, Amen.
I’m
Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word
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