An Evening Prayer

If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain,
Lest I myself shall suffer through the strain,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have been perverse or hard, or cold,
If I have longed for shelter in Thy fold,
When Thou hast given me some fort to hold,
Dear Lord, forgive!

Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee;
Forgive the secret sins I do not see;
O guide me, watch over me and my keeper be,
Dear Lord, Amen.

I was not familiar with this particular hymn, but a friend of mine from Church recommended it to me. I have “chewed” on this hymn for several weeks, because I was hesitant to include it as a “Hymn of the week” because, to be honest, I was too convicted to comment on the words because I am guilty too many times for the things this hymn asks forgiveness for. I didn’t feel real comfortable sending it to others and pointing out the “specks in your eyes” while trying to deal with the logs/planks in my own. Nonetheless, the words to this song are truly powerful. They are honest. They are convicting. But they represent a prayer that many of us should consider memorizing and praying every evening (starting with me).

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Walked in my own willful way” – This may be one of the most frequent sins we commit, but I doubt we acknowledge it as sin as often as we should. But when we think about it, how often do we choose to do our own thing instead of following the Lord’s will? We know what is right, and we know what the Lord’s will is for us to do in certain situations. We sense the Holy Spirit speaking to us, but we walk in our own willful way by “waiting for confirmation from the Lord” or we want to “make sure” it was the Lord speaking to us. Our will gets in the way, and we sin by being disobedient to the Holy Spirit. Dear Lord, when I have done my own thing and not sought your will, please forgive!

• “Turned aside from want or pain” – When I first read this lyric, I asked myself “Who in their right mind would turn towards want and pain? These aren’t places that I desire to go.” Is it really a sin to turn away from want or pain? I don’t know for sure what the author was trying to communicate, but I was reminded of Jesus’ words when He spoke about separating sheep and goats in Matthew 25. He said “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Dear Lord, when I have seen others hungry, or needing clothes, or sick and I did not look after them, please forgive!

• “Long for shelter in Thy fold when Thou hast given me some fort to hold” – How often has God called us to battle – to “Hold the Fort” (another old hymn for another day) – but our desires is to run for shelter? It is natural for us to desire to be with the Shepherd and in His tender care, but there are times where He is calling for warriors – prayer warriors – to fight the battle for Him and His cause. Paul said in Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Dear Lord, in those times where I have gone “AWOL” during a spiritual battle, please forgive!

• “God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food.” “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” “Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name…” Each of us have probably prayed these prayers many times during our life, especially during our childhood. I think they are all simple prayers that are easy for a child to memorize, but I wonder, does the simplicity and routineness of the prayer have the potential for us to pray them without truly meaning it?

Jesus told a parable in Luke 18 comparing the prayers of a Pharisee and the prayer of a tax collector. The Pharisee was proud and arrogant in his prayers. I wonder if his prayers were “vain repetitions” as Jesus referred to in Matthew 6. The tax collector, on the other hand, prayed a simple prayer – “Have mercy on me a sinner” and he meant it. Jesus said one man went home justified before God and the other did not.

As I mentioned earlier, this “Evening Prayer” would be one worth memorizing and praying regularly, even every evening. The key, however, is to not pray it as a routine or ritual, but as an earnest prayer to God for forgiveness for the sins that we commit on a daily basis. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9