A Bad Day Prayer

Do you ever have those days when you wake up with the intent of having a really great day? You have a really great breakfast with the Greek yogurt you love, match together the cutest outfit, have all your books together, and head out the door to class. One thing, you skipped your quiet time. You step out only to find that five minutes later it begins to rain. Great, you left your umbrella in the room. You get to class and find out you forgot to print out your reading response that was due at the beginning of class. The rest of the day, you only think of the negatives and forget everything great that happened earlier that day. Oh, and no one complimented you on your cute outfit. Guess you’re not wearing that shirt again. You become Debbie Downer and your day suddenly becomes self-centered and just an overall bad day.

As a woman, I get these days frequently. I make all the bad things that happened that day define how good I felt that day or just exactly how popular was I. I don’t know if males experience the same good-day-bad-day rollercoaster feelings women do, but I think a few girls can commiserate with me. When my day does not consist of some sort of interaction with the Lord, my spiritual growth slumps. The truth is, when we face negative feelings or thoughts, we feel inadequate to receive God’s blessings. But in reality, God’s blessing does not depend on our performance.

As human beings, we think that God’s blessing on our lives is somehow conditioned upon our spiritual performance. If we performed well and had a “good” day, then we feel like we can receive God’s blessing. Oh of course we know God’s blessings some to us through Christ, but we also have this notion that they are also controlled by our behavior.

Thinking like this is even more evident when we experience our “bad” days. We convince ourselves we’re not good enough. And when we think like that, we’re doubting God’s power and falling into sin.
Whenever I experience these “bad days,” I repeat this prayer to myself. I know it looks long, but I encourage you to read it and reflect on your own life.

Father, I have sinned against You. I’ve been negligent in the spiritual disciplines that I know are necessary and helpful for my spiritual growth. I’ve been irritable and impatient toward those around me. I’ve allowed resentful and unkind thoughts to lodge in my mind. I repent of these sins and claim Your forgiveness.
You have said you justify the wicked. Father, in view of my sins today, I acknowledge that in myself I am wicked. In fact, my problem is not merely the sins I’ve committed, some of which I may not even be aware of, but the fact that my heart is sinful. These sins I am so painfully conscious of now are merely the expressions of my sinful heart.
But despite my sins and my sinfulness, You have said, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Given my awareness of my sin just now, that seems to be an incredible statement. Ho can I be without condemnation when I have so willfully sinned against you today?
O Father, I know it is because Jesus bore the sins I’ve committed today in His body on the cross. He suffered the punishment I deserve, so that I might experience the blessings He deserved. So I come to You.

Adapted from Jerry Bridge’s The Discipline of Grace

(note: I really didn’t want this to sound like a sermon, but please know that this is more like a note to myself, so I can always look back whenever I feel like I’m having a “bad” day.)