One of the dearest people in the world to me, a Catholic priest who literally helped save my life, came up with this prayer at a recent spiritual conference:
“Oh God, I give you myself as I am right now.”
So simple, but incredibly awesome and profound. Because, as I have found, even through my own personal experience, that it’s often difficult to go to Our Lord Jesus Christ feeling tainted and dirty. But, God wants us now. Right now! He suffered and died for us; not that we may come to Him pure and unsullied, but as we are – so that He may heal us. That is why Jesus loved the Roman Centurion, because he was stout, sure, and humble in his need. He knew he required Christ’s help, and went to Him. If he had equivocated, his servant would have died. Yet, a lot of sinners still want to wait – to first work on this or that; No! Let the Lord work upon your heart. Then, through Christ, we can be renewed and washed clean of our past.