Jeremiah 31I woke up this morning with a prayer of the church in my head.  “Almighty and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and  to give more than either we desire or deserve: Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord.”

To give more than we desire is a mind numbing statement.  Look at some of the Christmas wish lists around and you can see the issue.  Our desires are monumental and insatiable, and yet God wants to give us more.  This little prayer ties up our desires with forgiveness for things of which our conscience is afraid.  Through Christ God sends our sins away, drops them in the sea, remembers them no more.  All other gifts pale in comparison to that.