Prayers of Confession on Anger
Adapted from Psalm 6
Holy God, Father most gracious! Rebuke us not in your anger, nor chasten us in your wrath! Heal us from our sin, for we are troubled. Deliver us for the sake of your steadfast love. Our sins trouble us, 0 God. We are troubled by how they have hurt others. We are troubled by how they have hurt us. Your ways are right! 0 righteous God! and whenever we have refused to follow them we have found out how right they are. Have mercy on us, 0 God. Have mercy! Holy God, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Have mercy on us for the sake of your Son,
Who died to free us from our sins.
To you be honor and glory! Amen.
Adapted from Psalm 38:1-4, 9, 15, 18, 21-22
Pastor: O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.
All: There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
Pastor: O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
All: I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. Do not forsake me, O LORD! My God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Pastor: “Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever.
All: Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the LORD your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Pastor: Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.”
All: “Behold, we come to you, for you are the LORD our God.”
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Holy God, we come to confession realizing that we are often aware of the big sins in our lives, but we ignore the sins we think are small. We ask Your forgiveness for times when we have been apathetic, indifferent, impatient, judgmental, dismissive, entitled, and mean. We pray for the ways we have been blinded by our possessions, blinded by our anger, and blinded by our loyalty to self instead of to You. Forgive us and remind us that we are called to a different way of life. We know that being Your disciples involves dying to ourselves so that we can live for You. In the shadow of Your grace we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Gracious God, you have placed us in a culture that seems more and more filled with politics. Forgive us for every time we respond to these politics with decisions that do not honor Christ. Pardon us for impatient and cruel anger, for indifference which stems from our privilege, for personal attacks and even hatred for those who see the world differently, and for our reluctance to pray for our leaders. Remind us again that as citizens of heaven, you want us to live differently as citizens and residents of the United States. Forgive us for these and all our sins, as we continue to pray in silence…
Silent prayer
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
May God bless you with a restless discomfort
about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
May God bless you with holy anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless you with the gift of tears
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you really can make a difference in this world,
so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
A Franciscan Blessing
Holy God, we come to confession realizing that we are often aware of the big sins in our lives, but we ignore the sins we think are small. We ask Your forgiveness for times when we have been apathetic, indifferent, impatient, judgmental, dismissive, entitled, and mean. We pray for the ways we have been blinded by our possessions, blinded by our anger, and blinded by our loyalty to self instead of to You. Forgive us and remind us that we are called to a different way of life. We know that being Your disciples involves dying to ourselves so that we can live for You. In the shadow of Your grace we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
O Lord, We marvel that you would take on flesh and blood in order to be crucified, killed, and buried for us. You humbled yourself and submitted to the hatred of sinful men, accepting the thorns, the whip, the nails, and the spear, to free us from sin and death forever. Although you dreaded the pain and the separation from your Father, you loved him more than life, and for the joy of having us as brothers and sisters you endured the cross of shame.
We praise you for your costly obedience, because you have paid the enormous debt of all our sin, and because we desperately need your righteousness to stand in place of our unrighteousness. Although most of us have not actually killed anyone, we confess that we have all hated, and continue to hate, others in our hearts. Our hearts rise up often to judge others, to disdain and condemn them, to dismiss them from our circle of friends, to murder the reputation of others through gossip and slander.
We are capable of great unkindness toward enemies and loved ones when we feel fearful, threatened, and disrespected. Lord, forgive us for our unruly, self-centered, and murderous hearts. Precious Savior, we cannot change our hearts. Through the power of your Spirit we ask for more grace to see the truth about ourselves. Help us to confess honestly our hatred of you and of one another. We plead for repentance; help us to die to ourselves more deeply.
Make us people who breathe life into others with words of encouragement and edification, instead of hating with our hearts and killing with our lips. Holy Spirit, crucify our sinful desires and make us like Christ. Ravish our hearts with the truth of the gospel. Transform us by your powerful love so that we may truly love others and raise them up. Form us into people who endure costly relational pain for the sake of loving and forgiving our worst enemies.
Barbara Duguid, Streams of Mercy: Prayers of Confession and Celebration. P&R Publishing.
Lord, forgive us for the times when we fail to follow your word. During this time, we silently reflect on the times when we’ve ignored your commandments in Scripture, the times when we have…
Failed to love those who make our lives difficult…
Sought our own will instead of yours…
Settled for complaining instead of seeking contentment…
Spoken in ways that dishonor you and others…
Let our eyes linger on things they should pass over…
Allowed our anger to get the best of us…
Lord, we thank you for your grace and patience with us. Amen.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Lord, we confess that we do not love you with our whole hearts
And we do not love our neighbour as ourselves.
We seek the blessing of others
Rather than the blessing of your grace
We seek comfort in wealth
Rather than a generosity which reflects Christ
We live as rulers of our own kingdoms
Rather than sons and daughters in yours
Have mercy on us
Humble us
And make us hungry again for life with you
Amen
Jacob Traeger
God our Father
We confess to you and to one another
That we have been quick to anger
And slow to mercy
We have paid back abuse with abuse
Hatred with hatred
And violence with violence
The world does not always see you in us
Make us people of mercy and love
Pour out your Spirit of grace upon us
So that we would overflow with love
Not just for one another, but for those we call enemies
In Jesus’ name we pray
Amen
Jacob Traeger
O Lord, we are too easily discouraged when things don’t go our way, when we face trials, testings, and even persecution. Lord forgive the weakness of our faith. We too often respond in anger and hurtful words. Forgive our put-downs and cutting remarks. We take pride in looking religious and pious while often ignoring the physical and emotional needs of people around us. Father, forgive our lack of putting our faith into action. Teach us to be like Christ.
Amen.
Bud Thoreen