Opening Prayers/Prayers of Adoration on Shame
(Prayer of Adoration)
Great God our Father: You are good and You are strong.
You are faithful and true,
and You won’t tempt or lie to us.
In a world that appeals to our sinful cravings
and dominated by spin:
You alone are worthy of our trust, loyalty and love.
You alone have loved us with such an everlasting love
as to give Your Son or us.
You alone never abandon us, living with and within us
by Your Holy Spirit.
(Prayer of Confession)
Yet, we so easily trade Your truth for a lie,
and substitute our lusts for Your love.
We blame others for our errors and for our wanton sin.
We close our eyes to the truth about who we are
and run from the truth of who You are.
Forgive us for choosing to love and live for the world:
by following our own cravings,
giving into the lust of our eyes, and
boasting of who we are,
what we’ve done and what we’ve got.
Hear us as we say,
in whispers too soft for any one else to hear but You,
the sin we’re too ashamed to let anyone else know
but You who know all about us and love us anyway.
Hear our silent confessions of sin: (PAUSE)
God of the Impossible – Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
There’s nothing too hard for you to do,
Nothing too complex for You to understand,
No place we go that You’re not there,
No sin too heinous that You’ll not forgive,
And no time when You cease to love Your own.
You amaze us with Your power and creativity;
You overwhelm us with Your grace and love.
Thank You!
Thank You for inviting us to come as we are, not as we aren’t;
upheld by your compassion and grace
so we can freely confess to you our sin,
duplicity and self-absorption.
In the quiet, Lord, now hear our whispered confessions
of what we’re too ashamed to say aloud to anyone but You,
for You know us intimately – and still loves us immensely.
God of the Impossible – Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
No Record of Wrongs, an opening prayer
Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:5 NRSV
Love keeps no record of wrongs.
We keep to-do lists so we don’t forget
We check them twice
We carry them in our pockets
Holding on to the pain
The disappointment
The failure
Re-viewing the wrong
Point by point by point
Plotting revenge on ourselves and others
We carry them
They keep us cross
Wounded and bleeding
Divided and dying
You take our lists
Crossing out
Crossing off
Nailing them to your tree
Burying them in a blaze of love
So we may rise free
You keep no record of wrong
Instead, you write our names on your palm
A life list on your lifeline
A love list by your scar
Hallelujah
Time of silent prayer
No Record of Wrongs © 2014 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com