Prayers of Confession on Being Enslaved

Adapted from Ezra 9:6-15

Pastor: O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.

All: From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt.

Pastor: But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. For we are slaves.

All: Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery but has extended to us his steadfast love.

Pastor: And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, which you commanded by your servants the prophets. And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again?

All: O LORD, the God of Israel, you are just. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.”

Submitted by Dustin Ray

Adapted from Psalm 10 & Romans 7:21-25

Arise, 0 LORD; 0 God, lift up your hand.

Forget not the afflicted.

We call to you in our sorrow and frustration,

Lord God, eternal, everlasting God.

Why do you stand so far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

You are our God, even if we have ignored you!

Arise, O Lord; O God, we cry to you.

It looks like evil is winning out.

Even in our own lives sin keeps winning the battles.

“So I find it to be a law, that when I want to do right,

Evil lies close at hand…making me captive to sin

…wretched man that I am.” Romans 7:21-25

Have mercy on us, O God,

For we are sinners, captives to sin, enslaved by sin!

Hughes Oliphant Old. Leading in Prayer: A Workbook for Ministers (Kindle Locations 958-960).

Loving God, You created us to be Your people, made in Your image, and set apart for Your glory. But we have chosen to disobey You, and have determined that our way is better than Your way. We have become slaves to sin; our souls have been corrupted and we have broken Your covenant. We repent and turn back toward You. Forgive us and set us free from our corruption and darkness. Thank You for Jesus Christ, Who reconciles, restores and redeems. We seek to honor Him with our whole lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

We pray to You our Lord, our Savior, our Merciful God, that all our sins may be forgiven. Our sins are like a straight jacket, binding us, and keeping us from relationship with You. Although we know we cannot free ourselves from our sins through our own strength, we still try. We’ve been lost. Haunted by our own materialistic wants and allured by the world’s definition of success, we’ve shunned You from our lives in hopes of finding happiness. Yet You wait for us with wide open arms. Free us from our worldly wants and sins.  Wash us in Your power.  We call upon Your grace, love, and mercy as we confess our sins and ask for your forgiveness. Help us to live in a way that brings You glory and honor, and use us to further Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Gracious and loving God, you know the deep inner patterns of my life that keep me from being totally yours. You know the misformed structures of my being that hold me in bondage to something less than your high purpose for my life. You also know my reluctance to let you have your way with me in these areas. Hear the deeper cry of my heart for wholeness and by your grace enable me to be open to your transforming presence in this reading. Lord, have mercy.

Taken from: Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation by M. Robert Mulholland and Ruth Haley Barton. Copyright (c) 2016 by M. Robert Mulholland and Ruth Haley Barton. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com

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