A prayer from Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian who opposed the Nazi movement in Germany and was ultimately killed for his stance.  He was strongly committed to his belief that the church should stand up against evil.  He wrote a series of letters and papers while he was imprisoned and in these documents there was a series of prayers recorded.  I have included the English translation from Letters and Papers from Prison printed by the MacMillan Company in 1967. 

Evening Prayers

O Lord my God, I thank thee

that thous has brought this day to a close;

I thank thee for giving me rest

in body and soul.

Thy hand has guarded me and preserved me.  

Forgive my lack of faith

and any wrong that I have done today,

and help me to forgive all who have wronged me.

Let me sleep in peace under thy protection

and keep me from all the temptations of darkness.

Into thy hands I commend my loved ones

and all who dwell in this house;

I commend to thee my body and soul.

O God, thy holy name be praise.

Amen.

I find what this man wrote about forgiveness in this prayer to be crucial to our understanding of living for Jesus.  We need to both ask forgiveness and freely forgive all who have wronged us.  This does not mean we have to agree with their position as he clearly never agreed with the Nazi regime.  However we do need to by the grace of God, give them to God in our prayers.