Judges 3:9
When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

“Israel during the time of the judges was not sorry for their sin, but only for their circumstances.”
David Sinclair, from sermon series on Judges 5/6/2018

God’s mercy is amazing.  He is merciful when we cry out for our circumstances.  He wants us to pray for for unpleasant circumstances, for relief, for the hard times we pass through.

He also wants us to pray in repentance for our sin.  Like Israel though, how often do I only focus on the circumstances and not the sin?  How often am I only consumed by the difficulties in life and ignore the sin that is present before me?  I can pray in detail about the difficulties.  Yet I can gloss over the sin by expressing only a blanket sorrow for sin, not giving it the detail that God desires me to express.

Heavenly Father, Holy Son and Spirit, forgive me when I consider only my personal circumstances in prayer.  Reveal my sin.  Make my supplications more about repentance of the sin in my life.  Help me, Holy Spirit.  I pray that the sorrow for sin would overshadow the petty circumstances of life.  Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,