– To put back into proper order or alignment.
The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
– Jeremiah 31:3
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water – Hebrews 10:22
Prayer:
Father,
How easy it is for us to drift away from you and not even realize we have been drifting until we have gone so far your voice begins to sound distant. Today would you help us focus on realigning our selves with you? Realigning our heart to yours, our will to yours. Every area of our lives needs an alignment check father. Our homes, our marriages, our relationships, our careers, our finances, our ministries, our goals, our plans, our motivations. Help us to examine them all by your wisdom and light and see how they line up to your word. Where we have begun to drift, would you gently guide us back? Remind us how good you are. How good your ways are. Make us miss the sunlight and joy of your path and not grow comfortable hiding in any darkness. Your word says:
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.
– Proverbs 4:18-20
Reveal to us the motivations of our hearts. Show us what it is that makes us stumble, what causes us to drift, so that we might avoid it, pass by it and turn away. Draw us toward you by your light and loving kindness as your word says. Let the memory and promise of your warmth, your unfailing love, mercy and forgiveness seduce our hearts back to you no matter how far we have allowed our hearts to go. Let the darkness of sin remain cold, empty so that we find no comfort or pleasure there. Let the seduction of its deceitful promises of safety, pleasure and benefits be revealed to us for what they truly are, a delusion intended to lead us and those we love to death not to the life it promises.
Finally Father, would you comfort us and calm our fears? Because sometimes moving from the darkness into the light is scary. Realignment sounds so beautiful, sweet and wonderful to our ears, but in reality it plays out very painfully. It’s moving what has came out of joint back into place. We know its needed, we know the pain only lasts but a moment, but still it hurts and scares us. We have to honestly question, do we really want this prayer answered? How badly do we want it? Help change our hearts if fear is preventing us in coming to you with the our out of joint pieces. We need realignment. Help us to desire your realignment that promises us so much peace later; give us the courage to truly pursue it and do whatever it takes to align ourselves back up with you despite our fear of momentary pain.
Life is only found in you and your way leads us to eternal life and eternal joy even if we don’t always see it right now. We know it’s our final destination because your path ends at your feet. You are all of this and more. You are our reward. Draw us back to you and your way in all areas of our personal lives and in our church and in our ministries with sincere hearts in full assurance of faith that comes through Christ.
We are the Lord’s servants,
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
