Prayer without blemish

In the system of animal sacrifices commanded by God in the Old Testament, he stresses that the people should not take short cuts by offering "blemished" animals (Deuteronomy 17:1, KJV),

Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God.

Jesus, by presenting himself as the ultimate and eternal sacrifice, does away with that system of animal sacrifices. But we still offer "sacrifices" in the forms of our prayers. And to that end, the same warning applies: Our prayers should not be "blemished." That is, our prayers must not be phony, or boastful, or half-hearted.

Unfortunately, we're all guilty of occasionally offering "blemished" prayers, which speaks to our sinful natures. To avoid those blemished prayers, let us try to follow the advice in Psalm 95:6 (KJV),

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

How to live, and how to repent

In Colossians 3:17 (KJV), Paul gives clear, concise advice regarding how we should conduct our lives,

Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

It's not complicated advice, but we seem to fail to heed it every day! What to do when we fail to live according in that manner? We must repent, and Psalm 79:8 offers a model for how to do that,

Remember not [our] iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily [come to] us: for we are brought very low.

This prayer, like Paul's instruction, is not complicated. God does not require that we be complicated! Rather, he requires that our hearts be aligned with his. Let us use the two verses posted here as guidance for how to live, and how to repent.