let us not forget to tremble

A prayer of repentance and hope grounded in the character of God.

"Oh God in heaven, we Your church see ourselves today as salt of the earth and the light of the world, and so we are. Or are we? Do we live up to this high and holy calling? Our sexual scandals, our financial crookedness, our doctrinal superficiality, our televised foolishness, our cynical competition between Christian organizations, our addiction to fads, our secularized methods, our hypocrisies, heresies, and absurdities, and we wonder why we aren't more influential for good. Our moral influence is weak because our moral character is weak. The world doesn't take You seriously because we ourselves have given them ample reason not to. Oh God, we are too ashamed to lift our eyes to heaven, but we are still Your blood-bought church. Your purchased us at a high cost and lovingly bound us to Yourself through the eternal covenant. Oh Christ, we cling to Your merit as our only warrant for confidence. Oh Spirit, we yearn for You to renew us and reform us. Oh Triune God, make Your church majestic in the world today, to your own greater glory. Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains of sin in the church and the world might quake at Your presence. That the nations might tremble at Your presence. In the holy name of Christ we pray these things. Amen." (Walt Harrah)