One of the truly solemn privileges of the Christian’s prayer life
is to intercede for those corrupted by sin. Every person, age, and place
struggles with the temptation to be conformed to the world, and there are
always voices and powers that seek to recast even the Gospel itself to the
idols of a particular era.
The Liturgy of Baptism in the Book of Common Prayer requires that we must first renounce “Satan
and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God,” “the evil
powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God,” and “all
sinful desires that draw [us] from the love of God” before we may take the name
of Christ Jesus upon our lips as Lord and Savior.
We simply cannot make sin a blessing. Any attempt to do so
is both betrayal and folly.
The struggle around this issue is firstly a personal one.
Each Christian must enter into a lifelong journey of deepening dependence on
Christ, confronting all idols and evil within us in the light his love and
cleansing grace—so that we (in the words of the Collect) may “purify ourselves
as he is pure.”
To this end, the Church offers the Confession of Sin in both
the Daily Office and the Eucharist as well as through the Reconciliation of a
Penitent (private auricular confession). It also offers the Laying on of Hands
and Anointing for healing, fasting, individual Rules of Life emphasizing repentance and
humility, education about the nature of sin and God's grace, spiritual direction, and pastoral care by both clergy and lay persons
who are also seeking to live the Beatitude that says “blessed are pure in
heart, for they shall see God.”
Yet, this struggle with error, sin, and corruption also must
inform our prayers for others. We cannot remain silent before God when sin—in
whatever form—runs roughshod through the Christian Church and the world God
fashioned. We must intercede for others, even as we pray for ourselves.
The prayers that follow are derived from ancient sources and
are deeply aware that error in faith and practice corrupts us, damaging the
work and presence of God in our life and exposing us to great danger. (I think
here of those whom I have served who have told me of their recovery from lives
of carnality, darkness, and participation in evil, and of the great costliness to all dimensions of their being and relationships.)
But these prayers are also full of hope and trust in the
strength of God to deliver not only individuals but whole groups from the grip
of delusion and error (the lives of the saints--known and unknown to the wider Church--are full of such stories of recovery and healing). We must never forget this: though powerless in the
world’s eyes, we bear a message and a medicine greater than all the armies,
lawsuits, or advertising campaigns the world over: the mercy, grace, and love of
God in Christ. It is this we plead when we pray for others in their need—not
our own supposed righteousness or even our just outrage.
So, it is with a personal humility grounded in a practice of
repentance, and with an earnest love for those trapped in sin, that we offer
these prayers. In so doing, we place whatever grief or sorrow we have in our
hearts on Christ’s altar, that our motivation may remain the victory of Truth
over all lies, and the worship of the Triune God over all the false idols of
this and every epoch.
That you would bring
back the erring into the way of salvation, we beseech you, hear us.
O God of heavenly powers, fulfill your promised mercy; that
the hearts of the rebellious may be subdued to the truth of the Gospel; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
That you would bring
back the erring into the way of salvation, we beseech you, hear us.
Almighty and everlasting God, who saves all peoples, and
does not will that any should perish; look upon the souls which have been
deceived by the fraud of the devil; that all heretical perversion may be driven
away, and the hearts of the erring may repent and return to your unshaken
truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
That you would bring
back the erring into the way of salvation, we beseech you, hear us.
Dissolve, O Christ, the schisms of heresy, which seek to
subvert the faith and which strive to corrupt the truth; that as you are
acknowledged in heaven and earth as one and the same Lord, so your people,
gathered from all nations, may serve you in the unity of faith. Amen.
That you would bring
back the erring into the way of salvation, we beseech you, hear us.
Grant forgiveness, O Lord, to those who have turned from the grace of
the Font, that they may again be adorned with the gifts of faithful repentance;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
That you would bring
back the erring into the way of salvation, we beseech you, hear us.
O God most merciful, who recalls the erring and does not despise
sinners, we rely on your own promise that you will give pardon to the penitent.
May all who seek you find you. Grant this, O Lord. Amen.
That you would bring
back the erring into the way of salvation, we beseech you, hear us.
Have mercy, O Lord, upon your servants, that all their
wickedness may be put away; grant that they may be so protected by the defense of your
compassion that, shunning all misdeeds, they may go on to perfection in the keeping of your
commandments and at the last day come before the presence of your glory without shame or grief; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
That you would bring
back the erring into the way of salvation, we beseech you, hear us.
O God, you delight in the devotion of the faithful; make
your people to be devoted to your holy things; that they who depart from their sacred
vows by ungodly depravity of mind may be converted by your grace and return
from the snares of the devil wherein they have been held captive; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
That you would bring
back the erring into the way of salvation, we beseech you, hear us.
Gracious Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church. Fill
it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it;
where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it.
Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it
is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.
That you would bring
back the erring into the way of salvation, we beseech you, hear us.
Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you
through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire
our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope
of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.
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