”O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:24-25
No matter how hard we try, we just can’t measure up to what God demands of us in His holy commandments. Even as believers with a new nature that loves God and desires to please Him, we come short and are poor, wretched sinners! Thankfully, God sent His only-begotten Son to redeem us and, through faith in Christ, we are forgiven and granted everlasting life in fellowship with God.
Thank You, dear Heavenly Father, for sending Your only-begotten Son to pay the price for my sins and failings that I might have Your pardon and forgiveness through faith in Christ Jesus and His cross. Graciously keep me in the true and saving faith unto that Day when You will raise me up, without sin, to serve You forever in righteousness and true holiness. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24
Are you ready to pray this prayer — to ask God, who knows and sees all, to search and test your heart and reveal any wicked way in you? Are you ready for Him to lead you in the way everlasting by moving you to repent of your sins and look to Christ and His cross for pardon and forgiveness? Are you ready to seek the guidance and direction of God’s Word in your life?
Lead me, O God, to see and repent of my sins and trust in Christ’s holy life and innocent sufferings and death for pardon and forgiveness. “Lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Romans 7:18
In our human nature, now corrupted by sin, there is nothing good and no ability to keep God’s law. Even if we agree that the commandments of God are good and right, we still lack the capacity to keep God’s commandments from the heart. We need a Savior!
Have mercy upon me, O God, forgive my sins for Jesus Christ’s sake, and cleanse my heart and soul that I might serve You and live according to Your holy commandments. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.” Romans 7:10-11
God’s good commandments did not bring about our spiritual and eternal death; the sin inherited from Adam and Eve and which infects us all did. God’s law is good and right, but we are turned in upon ourselves and unable to grasp the law’s rightness and keep it. Therefore, sin causes our death and condemnation, and the salvation God provided in His Son is our only hope!
Your law is good and right, O God, but I am a sinner and have not walked in accord with Your holy law. Forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness for the sake of Christ Jesus, my Savior, and then move me to live according to Your holy will. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Romans 7:7
The law of God is not sinful or flawed. It is perfect, but it reveals to us our sinfulness and our flawed nature when we hear its good and holy demands. If God’s law had not pointed out that we are sinning in our hearts when we are not satisfied with what God has given us and desire what is not rightfully ours, we would not have recognized this sinfulness of our hearts or seen our need for a Savior.
Your commandments are good and right, O Lord. I am a sinner and deserving of Your wrath and punishment. Have mercy on me and pardon my sins for the sake of the blood of Christ Jesus, shed on the cross for the sins of all. In His name, I pray. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
