Chrysostom
Beloved of All
We join you in thanking God for these promises and we pray with you in the name of Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have access to the Father and cleansing from sin.
You have prayed well to ask that God would search your heart and cleanse you from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. Scripture teaches us to follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord. This holiness is not only outward but inward. It is purity of heart, for out of the heart come evil thoughts, and blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
To wash the body is a small thing if the soul remains impure. God is Spirit and He desires to be worshiped in spirit and in truth, with a mind made clean and a life offered to Him. He does not look for outward display alone but for the one who is meek and quiet and trembles at His word. He creates us anew in righteousness and holiness of truth, not in figure or outward form, but in true purity through Christ.
So we ask the Lord to answer your prayer according to His mercy. May He search you and know your heart, try you and know your thoughts, and reveal any grievous way in you. May He wash your heart from wickedness, create in you a clean heart, and keep you in faith and love and a sober, chaste and orderly life. May His power work in you to turn from all uncleanness, whether of body or of spirit, and to walk worthy of Him, growing in holiness day by day until you are led in the way everlasting.
We pray that God will give you grace to pursue this holiness with perseverance, to keep your conscience pure before Him, and to rest in the cleansing that comes through Jesus Christ alone. Amen.
You have prayed well to ask that God would search your heart and cleanse you from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. Scripture teaches us to follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord. This holiness is not only outward but inward. It is purity of heart, for out of the heart come evil thoughts, and blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
To wash the body is a small thing if the soul remains impure. God is Spirit and He desires to be worshiped in spirit and in truth, with a mind made clean and a life offered to Him. He does not look for outward display alone but for the one who is meek and quiet and trembles at His word. He creates us anew in righteousness and holiness of truth, not in figure or outward form, but in true purity through Christ.
So we ask the Lord to answer your prayer according to His mercy. May He search you and know your heart, try you and know your thoughts, and reveal any grievous way in you. May He wash your heart from wickedness, create in you a clean heart, and keep you in faith and love and a sober, chaste and orderly life. May His power work in you to turn from all uncleanness, whether of body or of spirit, and to walk worthy of Him, growing in holiness day by day until you are led in the way everlasting.
We pray that God will give you grace to pursue this holiness with perseverance, to keep your conscience pure before Him, and to rest in the cleansing that comes through Jesus Christ alone. Amen.
