These prayers, written by a pastor for his beloved congregation, remind us of our need for repentance and assure us from Scripture of God’s abounding love. 

Derek Thomas served First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina as Minister of Preaching and Teaching from 2011, and subsequently as Senior Minister from 2013 until his retirement in 2023. Approaching the Throne of God exemplifies how he reflected God’s love for his congregation, expressed in these prayers of confession and assurances of pardon, a crucial part of a Sunday service.

Thomas gives voice to our deepest need for forgiveness and assurance. These prayers display our need and bring a fresh taste of God’s pardoning love. Discover afresh that God’s grace is all–sufficient. Be reminded that in Jesus Christ the heavenly Father has given us a loving Savior, and by his Spirit reassures us that there is forgiveness.

This new collection includes a foreword by Sinclair B. Ferguson and an afterword by Dale Ralph Davis.

It will be an invaluable addition to an individual’s daily devotion, or for pastors to use with their own congregations.