A Prayer about the Saddest Verse in the Bible

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. Genesis 3:7

Lord God,

These are some of the most painful verses in the whole Bible 

(right up there with Jesus agonizing in the garden and dying on the cross). 

Just a few verses before, we were told, 

“The man and his wife were both naked and not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25). 

You had created them in your image, 

formed their exquisite bodies from the dust, 

giving Adam just the perfect complement he needed. 

And now, in one instant, as Adam stood silently by 

while Eve listened to the words of the serpent, 

the man and the woman had committed treachery. 

They had turned against you, 

doubting your goodness and generosity to them. 

Forever, they would know shame, 

and their descendants with them. 

Today, we feel it, the shame of sin, 

and shame over our bodies. 

Like Adam and Eve, 

we often reach for frail fig leaves 

in efforts to cover our shame, 

but we know they can’t fully cover us, 

and besides, they wither and dry up and fall apart. 

Like Adam and Eve, we often try to hide from you. 

What wretched people we would be if not for your pursuing love!

You refused to leave Adam and Eve 

lurking in the bushes; 

neither do you leave us there. 

You cleansed us from our sin through Christ’s death; 

you sent us the covering of Christ’s righteousness, 

which we wear now as your new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). 

By your mercy, 

we are freed from living in the shadows of shame. 

By your mercy, 

we can celebrate again the bodies you have given us. 

In Jesus’ atoning name. Amen. 

Read Genesis 2:24-3:7; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. 

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