Last week I found myself praying a little prayer while I was at work. I don’t know if it was the setting (sitting at my desk) or what, but it came out different than any prayer I can remember, and it really hit me. I was nearly in tears when I finished and opened my eyes.
You’re probably thinking, “Wow, must’ve been something pretty profound!”
Not at all, in fact it’s quite the opposite; something so simple that it’s never occurred to me.
Are you ready?
Here it is.
“I’m sorry.”
Of course, there was a little more to it than that. But that’s how it began, and it hit me immediately that it’s something I’ve never said to God before; or at least I don’t remember saying it before. At the very least, not so bluntly.
We hear all about forgiveness of our sins. But we never talk about saying “I’m sorry” before asking for that forgiveness. We teach our kids to say “I’m sorry” when they do something mean/bad/wrong, and we teach them to forgive when someone apologizes to them. But, like so many other things, we get it backwards when it comes to God. We ask forgiveness first, and maybe add that we’ll try not to do it again. I don’t know about everyone else, but for me the apology is always assumed.
Let me tell you though, when I verbally said “I’m sorry” to God for something, it made a huge difference for me. Maybe it will for you too.
Or maybe everyone else already does this?! It could just be me!
Anyway, if it’s you too, give it a try and see what happens; say “I’m sorry” to God.