Lord Christ,
You see to the truth of me; you see the heart that is deceitful and wicked. 
I sometimes wish You would overlook its clutching sinfulness.
And I sometimes pretend you can’t see,
or that you’re not paying attention.
But I acknowledge that you are right about my dreadful, broken neediness. 
Help me to see and acknowledge the ways that, all too often, my actions, beliefs,
and relationships betray the assumption that your church and your world
are ultimately meant to serve my purposes and appetites. 
Show me the ways that I resist your work, choosing instead
to be led by old habits that flatter my strengths and inclinations,
presuming I’m being led by your Spirit. 
Lead me, instead, with You to the cross, so that this heart of darkness
may die and be made new, pure, and whole.
Amen.

Dr. Phillip Aijian
Adjunct Professor
Torrey Honors College
Biola University