Call Upon the Name of the Lord (A Sinner’s Prayer)
Call Upon the Name of the Lord (A Sinner’s Prayer)
by Danny C. Wash
O Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus, My soul
cries out to You to be rescued by
Your mercy and grace. My soul is troubled.
It is disturbed. I have no rest. My heart is turned over.
I have sinned. I have erred. My guilty thoughts
and accusations are like ravens cawing and circling
around my head. I have fallen short of Your laws and
principles. My conscience is troubled, disturbed by my deeds.
Should I have to appear now before Your judgment
seat, I would be judged as wanting and sinful. My heart
seems far from You and I cannot see You. O Lord
Jesus save me for Your word says that, “whoever calls
upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” O Lord,
am I not within the group of the “whoever” sinners? May I be
removed from the presence of the devil and my own
selfish flesh, lustful thoughts and desires; from my lack
of righteousness and the chasm between God and me
because of my depraved nature of sin and sinfulness. Because
I am sinful to the core of my being, I deserve to be cast into the
deepest recesses of hell to suffer forever. I cry unto You with my
face in the dirt admitting that is where I belong. I repent of my sin
and self-centeredness and beg your forgiveness. Your word comes
to me from the Bible in Lamentations,
“I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;
you heard my plea, ‘Do not close
your ear to my cry for help!’
You came near when I called on you;
you said, ‘Do not fear!’"
O Lord Jesus, Your word tells me that You came to earth to live as one
of us in order to receive my punishment for my sins and sinful self.
You were sinless and perfect but You suffered for me on the cross and
shed Your blood in death so that God’s wrath against my sin would be
carried out and satisfied and I might be free and forgiven by Your
resurrection from death. Who can understand this sacrifice, this love,
this grace. I cannot but accept this gift of grace and forgiveness. Your love
of me is too great for my small mind to understand. I simply accept Your
gift and receive Your grace depending now on it and You and the cross and
the resurrection to create in me a new heart and renewed spirit. O Lord Jesus,
hallelujah for Your joy has replaced my sorrow. Your love has replaced my
lovelessness. Your resurrection life has given me new life, a life from You that
can never be extinguished nor lost. Your faith and faithfulness now holds and
keeps me safe from the devil and his power of death. Your resurrection life
prevails over death and the grave. And when anyone asks why I should be
allowed to have this new life and why do I deserve it; I will say, “I don’t deserve
it.” “But, I have it because of what Jesus has done for me. My only righteousness
is His and in Him and this makes me acceptable to God." O Lord Jesus, Your love
will bring me to You personally some day and I will receive a new body and will
live in the constant presence of You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit forever, Amen.
