O Lord,
You call priests to a higher standard,
to carry holiness in their bodies,
to guard purity in their homes,
to bear Your name before the people.
And I feel the weight of it.
For though I am no priest of Aaron,
You have called me to be set apart,
to bear witness,
to be a royal priesthood in Christ.
And the responsibility is heavy.
I confess, Father, that leadership wearies me.
I want to be faithful, yet I stumble.
I want to honor You, yet I fall short.
At times I resent the cost of being set apart.
I want to be ordinary, unnoticed, unburdened.
I forget that holiness is not punishment,
but privilege.
Yet You are the God who anoints the weak.
You take fragile, flawed people
and set them apart for Your glory.
You clothe the unworthy in righteousness.
You cover the stained in holiness.
And in Christ, my High Priest,
I see the One who bore perfection on my behalf,
who never failed, never stumbled, never sinned.
His holiness clothes me when mine falters.
So here I am, Lord.
Teach me to carry Your name with reverence.
Help me to live with integrity,
to lead with purity,
to serve with humility.
Let my life not profane Your holiness,
but display it.
And when the weight of leadership feels too heavy,
remind me that I am not the High Priest
Christ is.
He bears the burden I cannot carry.
Amen.