Episode 78: Micah 6:8
Transcription
Today’s verse is Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Let’s pray together.
LORD, show me what is good. I confess that I really don’t know that on my own. I might think I do, but I’m going off my feelings or my logic or what I’ve been taught or what others do, and those are never infallible sources. My feelings trick me, my logic can’t see all, others are imperfect and make mistakes. Only You truly know all and can lead me in the right way and show me what is best for me. So please show me and help me hear Your voice and know Your leading. Let me be the sheep that knows the shepherd, not the one that strays.
Help me to want what is good, Jesus. I don’t always. Even when I know the truth, I can rebel against it. I can desire to go my own way. I can want whatever my selfish flesh seems to think it requires to be happy. I can get lost in a moment. I can defiantly plant my feet in stubbornness. I can get lost in a sea of confusing decisions. I can be deceived by untrustworthy ways. So I need Your guidance every step of the way. I need to know the narrow road laid out before You. You have said You already walked that path before me, so help me to follow You through.
And, God, I want to see this as my duty. I don’t have to earn my salvation. I have freely received grace and mercy from You. But in return, I have dedicated my life to You. I have sworn to serve You always. I want to keep my vows. I want to change everything about me until it reflects only You. Because You require so little of me and yet everything. You desire all of me. And You have given all of You. So please help me to want to follow You and to know what is right so that I can be who I say I want to be.
God, help me to act justly. Help me to do right by other people. I pray I will not turn a blind eye to those in need. I pray I will do all in my power to give what I am able to give. I pray I will know how to help people and I will go out of my way to do it. I pray that I will be a person of integrity. I pray I will desire the best for others. I pray that I will step out of my comfort zone when someone requires my aid. I pray I will not be selfish or freeze in discomfort or run in fear. God, help me not just to see, but to do. And help me to know the difference between what is just and what is unjust. Help me to be an advocate.
But, LORD, I pray I will not be harsh or wish revenge or retribution. When I am injured or when I am slighted or when I perceive something as such, I pray I will not seek to get back at the person. I pray that I would love to give mercy. I pray I would love to show others what it is to receive mercy. I know what it is to receive it myself, so help me to offer that generously to others. I pray that I never live out of my feelings or my ideas of justice, but that I am always prepared to listen first, to ask questions, to try to understand. I pray I do not generalize or assume. I pray that I think and calm down before reacting. I pray that You are the gentler of my actions and that I am considering others before myself. And I pray that no matter what someone else does, my thoughts, words, and deeds are of You and show others who You are. It is Your kindness, LORD, that leads me to repentance, so help me to be that kindness for everyone around me.
And I pray, God, that I never think of myself as being able to enact all of these things. I know it is Your Spirit in me who helps me to be a person others can trust and love and respect. I know it is only Your grace that redeems me from all my failures. And all of my skills and knowledge and strengths come directly from my Creator. So I pray I will always be grateful and acknowledge Your work in my life. And I pray I give You all the glory. I pray that every day of my life is spent in the simple knowledge that You are God and I am not. Help me to trust in You, rather than trying to do everything myself. I pray I can relinquish control to You. I pray You lead me and guide me and I stop trying to run from You. I pray I always remember that I cannot trust my own instincts, but only the voice of the Holy Spirit. Please help me to live strong and free and well and joyously, but never assuming that I am the one in control.
Dear LORD, You are good. Help me to see that. You are my King. Help me to submit to Your will. You are Judge. Help me to abide by Your rules. You are the Mercy-Giver. Help me to redistribute that to all. You are the Almighty. Help me to remember my humble origins as creation.
I love You, God.
I pray this in Your powerful and mighty name, Jesus. Amen.
