Prayers of Confession on Anxiety
Adapted from Leviticus 26:14-46
Pastor: Oh God, we have not listened to you, and we have not walked in all of your commandments. We have spurned your statutes, and our souls have abhorred your laws.
All: I have not followed you in your commandments, and I have broken your covenant. The sin in my heart and in my life has caused panic and heart ache—both in me an in those around me.
Pastor: Even after you have shown us grace and mercy, we have walked contrary to your commandments. We have not listened to you, and we have continued to walk contrary to your direction.
All: I confess that I have sinned; all the generations in my family have sinned. I humble my heart before you, O God. You have kept Your covenant even when I have broken it. Remember me with grace, O Father.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Adapted from Psalm 6 and “Morning Needs” in The Valley of Vision
Pastor: “O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
All: “My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O LORD—how long? Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.”
Pastor: Lord, I come to you for the grace another year will require for its duties and events. As I step out into a wicked world, I carry in me an evil heart. I know that without you I can do nothing, and I know that my heart is prone to evil and wickedness.
All: Teach me how to use the world, and not abuse it, to redeem my time, to walk in wisdom and kindness toward my neighbors, to do good to all men, and to you be all the glory.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Adapted from Psalm 25:6-7, 11, 16-18
All: Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
We pause this morning to confess our sin to You. We enter into confession with both gratitude and reluctance. We’re grateful we have a gracious God to whom we can confess, but we’re reluctant that a deep confession might push the limits of that grace. So we confess, but not too deeply. We admit our wrongdoing, but omit the specifics. But You know our hearts, O Lord. You see what is done in secret. You hear our anxious thoughts, and know our evil deeds. Forgive us for our deceptiveness even in our confession. Lead us into the depths of our brokenness, that we may experience the heights of Your love. And then teach us how to exhibit Your love to a world that is broken. In the Name Jesus Christ, Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Holy God, You call us to a passionate, all-consuming faith. Yet, so frequently, we give You half-hearted obedience or distracted, leftover moments of our time. You tell us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, but we find ourselves to be dull and dim in our love for others. You ask for our wholehearted faith, and we meet You with anxiety and fear. Change us from the inside out. Fan into flame the desire to want more of You. We are thankful for Your unending, never-changing love for us in Your Son, Jesus Christ. We thank You for pursuing us when we turn our backs on You. We place ourselves at Your Feet, but ask that You keep us there as we continue on in our daily living. Be with us now; be with us tomorrow, and forevermore. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Gracious and Holy God, we make no pretense about our lives. We forget, even deny that we were created with wonder and delight in our souls. Yet, we go through life anxious and serious, seeking to get ahead, striving to make ends meet. We rush and hurry, and fill up our calendars. Where is the joy? Where are the days of summer rest? Where is our sense of delight? Forgive us, Lord, for failing to be the people that You created us to be and remind us that, like Nicodemus, we are loved for who we are, just as we are. Help us to remember that, in Christ, we are forgiven. Grant us Your peace as we look to You for the strength and courage to resist further temptation. We lift our prayer in the Name of Your Precious Son, Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Eternal God, in whom we gain strength and hope: We thank You for your incredible love. The height, depth, and width of Your love cannot be measured or comprehended. Yet by trusting in the life, death, and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, we may experience it. Praise be to Your Name! Now we confess to You the many times we choose to neither live in Your love, nor to express Your love through our words and actions. We love ourselves instead of loving our neighbors and loving You with all we have and all we are. We focus on our needs and wants; our worries and cares; and our goals and purposes, rather than on Your redeeming and sustaining love. Forgive us, gracious Lord. Free us from our self-centeredness so we may love You and love others, and thus bring honor to Your Name. We pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Holy God, we can be so full of fear at times – afraid of the unknown; afraid of what is beyond our control; afraid of what is strange to us. And we know that fear stops us in our tracks, hinders our action, and gives excuse for not doing what you call us to do and what you empower us to do. So we pray that you will give us courage, O God. Give us strong hearts and open hands, that we might set aside our fear, and walk confidently into this world you have made. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Eternal God, we recognize that Your ways are mysterious. Teach us to be still and to wait for You. We confess our sinfulness, our need for control, and our discomfort with the unknown. Instead of turning to You, we numb our pain with temporary distractions. We pretend to have our lives together when we really feel inadequate and insecure. Thank You for Your patience with us when we are slow to recognize Your activity in our lives. You never give up on us, O Lord. God of grace, You show up in our lives in the most unexpected ways. Surprise us this week with an awareness of Your presence. Replace our fear with trust. Turn our anxiety into wonder. Give us Your peace and joy as we live by faith and not by sight. In the strong Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Almighty God, we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance. We each have our hopes and expectations for what lies ahead, but only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we need. In life’s uncertainties, assure us of Your unchanging love. In disappointing moments, help us turn to You for stability. In temptation, give us courage to humbly place our hands into Yours. In daily preoccupations, open our eyes to the sorrows of our hurting world that we might respond with compassion. By your grace, equip us to keep You as the center of our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Living God, Today I confess that I allow my fear to drown out Your voice. I am afraid of the unknown and things outside my control. Help me hand these items over to you every hour of the day. Help me be quiet and still, waiting for Your will to be revealed rather than running ahead of You. Keep my heart open to the Spirit’s working. Remind me that I have daily bread from Heaven and a safe shelter in You when I am tempted to look elsewhere for hope and help. Through the power of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Leader: We are people of the resurrection. Witnesses to God’s glorious victory in Jesus Christ, which brings peace and transforms the power structures of this world.
But we also know that we live in the tension between the now and the not-yet. We are participants in Christ’s new life – but at the same time we find ourselves still clinging to the old age. So we confess our sin, our brokenness, our turning against God and his ways, how we’ve done that both individually and collectively.
All: God of resurrection life, hope, and peace
We confess that too often we are not peaceful
You have brought light, but we focus on the darkness
We have doubts and anxieties about our lives
About our nation
About our world
Instead of loving others, we are fearful of them
We seek to hide ourselves away in safety
Rather than live in vulnerable relationship with the world
As our brother Jesus Christ does
We need your Holy Spirit in our lives
Turn our hearts towards you
Take away our fear and self-centeredness
Make our trust in you stronger than our trust in ourselves
And bring us peace
Amen
Leader: Hear the good news. God is not absent, distant, dead. He is alive! Christ is risen! In him death has been defeated and life has been restored.
In Christ, God comes to those who don’t trust. God comes to those who are scared and anxious. God comes to you, and says “your sins are forgiven.” There is nothing left to fear. God is with you – God is for you and on your side.
Submitted by Jacob Traeger
Holy God, we are inspired by the boldness of people in the Bible, but we confess that we are often too afraid to be so bold. Our hearts are moved by the love and grace Jesus shared while he walked this earth, but we confess that we rarely take the time to try to hear his loving voice today. Forgive us our fears. Forgive us our inattentiveness. Transform us with your love and grace anew. Amen.
Cody Sandahl