Prayers of Confession on being a Child of God
(Prayer of Adoration)
Father God … our Abba:
You seek us with relentless love – coming after us in Your Son, Jesus.
When we are in the pits – You draws us up and out;
When we are broken – You fix us.
When we are lost – You find us.
When we are confused about who we are –
You call us by name and calls us Your own.
With hearts stilled and filled with Your love:
We bring our thanks and praise to You today.
(Prayer of Confession)
Yet – how often we forget who we are as Your children.
We live like we are not Yours but someone else’s;
Like we are not created in Your image,
redeemed by the blood of Your Son,
indwelt by Your very self in the Holy Spirit.
Forgive our wandering hearts, our lusty spirits,
Our self-centered attitudes and selfish actions.
Heavenly father, we confess to you that we do not always think or act as the children which you made us to be.
You tell us to honour our fathers and mothers, not to murder, commit adultery, steal or covet other people’s possessions
We confess that we don’t always value those closest to us
We are on our best behaviour with strangers
And save our tiredness, anger, frustration and hurt for those we love
We’re sorry. Please forgive us.
You tell us that all of humanity is made in your perfect image, and that “whatever we do for the least of these, we do it for you”
We confess that we don’t always look for your face in the people around us
Instead of loving and supporting other people
We judge them as somebody who isn’t good enough
Or idolise them as somebody who we’d rather be
We’re sorry. Please forgive us.
You tell us that blessed are the peacemakers, the meek, the merciful, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
We confess that our lives don’t always reflect these qualities you desire in us
While we pay lip service to peace, we don’t go out of our way to make it a reality
While we say we admire meekness, we devalue those who live out humility
While we say that you are all we need, too often we search for satisfaction elsewhere
We’re sorry. Please forgive us.
You tell us to have no other gods before you
We confess that we don’t always honour you as our Lord and King
We treat other aspects of our lives as more important than our relationship with you
We abuse your love, mercy and forgiveness
And devalue the price which Christ paid to restore our relationship with you
We’re sorry. Please forgive us.
Jacob Traeger
O Father of all creation, who hovered over the deep at the beginning, who spoke light into darkness, who split the heavens open and descended upon the Son of God in the waters of the Jordan, who created us in his image, who declared that each one us is fearfully and wonderfully made; we have forgotten. We have forgotten who we are. Our identity as beloved children has been obscured by a multitude of wrong-doing and wrong-thinking. We have exchanged the truth for a lie. Nevertheless, you have not forgotten us. You have cued up in the baptismal line yourself and entered into the waters with us, to show us our true humanity, our true identity. Forgive us, we pray for our forgetfulness of who we are. Let us not forget our own baptism and that which it signifies. Cleanse us by the power of your Spirit so that we may once again walk in the understanding of that truth.
Scott Bullock
Lord, we believe your Word when you say that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. You have given us all that we need to live faithfully as your chosen people. But just as often as we turn to you to fill us up, we turn to other places for blessing. We turn to our power or our money or perhaps even our families, instead of resting and relying on You. When we do turn to you, we often try to force our spiritual growth, when all that is needed is to meditate on your great love for us. That is where transformation happens. Help us to turn to you, to lean into you, first and foremost, for our spiritual needs and desires. And may we see your face and your love for us when we do.
Amen.
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Father of heirs and orphans,
Salvation of saint and sinner,
Draw near and forgive us.
Forgive us for clinging to law more than grace.
Forgive us for choosing slavery when you offer us adoption.
Forgive us for labeling, presuming, and excluding those you love and welcome into your family.
Send the Spirit of your Son into our hearts.
The congregation is invited to offer their own prayers of confession.
—Lisa Degrenia