Søren Kierkegaard was a 19th-century Danish theologian and philosopher. He was opposed to the empty rituals and customs of the Church of his day and thought it more important that we have an honest view of ourselves and how we live our lives. In this quote, from the collection The Prayers of Kierkegaard, he asks the Lord that we no longer might view ourselves as lost transgressors but as rescued, forgiven and redeemed.

Father in Heaven! Hold not our sins up against us but hold us up against our sins so that the thought of You when it wakens in our soul, and each time it wakens, should not remind us of what we have committed but of what You did forgive, not of how we went astray but of how You did save us!