Prayers of Confession on Brokenness
Merciful and Holy God, We bow before You in heartfelt confession, acknowledging that we are a broken people, living in a broken world. This world is dark with the stain of sin. Your design for creation has been corrupted by the abuse of power, the appetite for lust, and the enslavement of our wills. We allow evil to go unchallenged, and become passive and indifferent to Your call to engage the world with the Gospel. Forgive our sinfulness. Our sins of commission and omission have separated us from You, from others, and from the world You seek to redeem. Amen
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Dear Lord, we rejoice that in You we find our hope. We have tried and failed to manage our lives. We have tried to guard what we say and don’t say. We have tried to serve selflessly. We have tried to contain our appetites and desires. We have tried not to judge or condemn. We have tried to control our thoughts. The harder we try, the more obvious it becomes we cannot attain perfection. We confess our brokenness and weakness to You. We humbly thank You for forgiving our sins and washing us clean through the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Dear Lord, we rejoice that in You we find our hope. We have tried and failed to manage our lives. We have tried to guard what we say and don’t say. We have tried to serve selflessly. We have tried to contain our appetites and desires. We have tried not to judge or condemn. We have tried to control our thoughts. The harder we try, the more obvious it becomes we cannot attain perfection. We confess our brokenness and weakness to You. We humbly thank You for forgiving our sins and washing us clean through the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
God of mercy, in your gracious presence we confess our sin and the sin of this world. Although Christ is among us as our peace, we are a people divided against ourselves as we cling to the values of a broken world. Lord, have mercy upon us; heal and forgive us. Please set us free to serve you in the world as agents of your reconciling love in Jesus Christ. We offer our silent prayers of confession to you now…
Austin D. Hill
Almighty God, we come to You now as Your children because we know we are broken and sinful and need You so much. We have broken our relationship with You and have done things that have hurt You, others and ourselves. We have said ugly and mean words, and acted in judgmental and arrogant ways. We have been impatient and self-centered. We are sorry. Please forgive us. We repent and turn our faces toward You to receive Your love and forgiveness. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Merciful God, we turn away from the pains and cries of our world. Overwhelmed by its brokenness, we ignore the call to engage and love those who are hurting. Father, forgive us, strengthen us, and help us to love this world with hope. Let us be people who mourn and grieve along with those in sorrow that we might receive the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Submitted by Laura Murray
Almighty God, too often we settle for brokenness in our lives.
Rather than offering forgiveness, we hold onto offense.
Rather than pursuing justice, we turn away.
Rather than offering mercy, we continue in judgment.
Gracious God, these are not the ways of your kingdom.
Make us hunger and thirst for righteousness that we might see our need for Jesus.
Being nourished by his goodness, help us live out God’s ways on earth.
Submitted by Laura Murray
Gracious God, for the goodness and beauty of creation we thank you. For the way your creation nurtures and inspires us, we are grateful.
Yet, the more we pay attention to the world, the more we see its brokenness as well as its beauty. We wonder if we can know the world as it is and still love it. In this, as in all things, we need your help.
Even today, Lord, may I see and delight in the beauty of this world. May this draw me near to you with gratitude and wonder. By your Spirit, may I also see the brokenness of the world, not drawing back from that which is painful. Grant me your vision, your compassion. Help me, I pray, to live in the tension of the beautiful and the broken. Help me to know this world truly and to love it, even as you do. Amen.
Almighty and loving God, You created us to love You, worship You, and serve You. But our brokenness and sinfulness tarnishes the beauty and perfection of Your creation. We are hard-hearted and indifferent toward Your Kingdom. We easily forget Your call to love You with all our heart, soul, and might. Forgive us for being preoccupied with ourselves and not fulfilling our call to fully surrender and serve You. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in us.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Gracious God, on Sundays we come to this place and you fill us up with your goodness and light and we are renewed. But when we go out into the world, we fall short in so many ways. We confess that we are easily influenced by temptations and we fall prey to all kinds of sins. We are broken people who constantly lose focus on the cross of Christ. Forgive us for taking for granted the gift of the sacrifice of Your Son on our behalf. Thank you for being the Good Shepherd who always brings us back. Please transform our hearts and lives to live every day in the image of Your Son, Jesus. In Whose name we pray, Amen.
(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.
Holy God, we realize that You know us more intimately than we know ourselves. We come before You now asking You to show us our sin, to make us aware of our failings, to open our eyes to our brokenness. We are wandering sheep that have gone our own way. We need Your wisdom and guidance to show us the path of truth and life, for we are lost without Your grace. Search us, O God, and know our hearts. Test us and know our troubled thoughts. Give us true repentance that only comes from You. Do Your transforming work in us so that we can live as Your redeemed people in the world. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
All: Lord God
So often our love feels shallow
We act out of love
But then expect something in return
We are impatient
We envy
We boast
We are slow to forgive
Fill us with your Holy Spirit
Open our hearts again to your love
So that we are filled with your joy
And pour out your love to others
Leader: Paul writes: “ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away … For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Our love is only a pale reflection of the incredible love of God. The love which endures is the love Jesus carried with him to the cross, taking on himself your sin, your separation from God, and all those times your love has fallen short. God’s love keeps no record of being wronged. It never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. God’s love means that you are forgiven.
Submitted by Jacob Traeger
Jesus, we receive your blessings and pray for the Holy Spirit to make them real in our lives. Renew a right spirit within us, a poor spirit, a spirit that knows our deep need of your grace and deliverance.
Living Water, soften our hard hearts with the gift of tears. Help us mourn our brokenness and the brokenness of our world.
Generous Savior, you fill each person with gifts, talents, and strength. Open us to meekness, so we may gladly surrender them to your authority and discipline. In our hands, they are often weapons.
Bread of Life, sour every false and destructive appetite, so we may hunger and thirst for righteousness alone- a right relationship with you, a right relationship with others, a right relationship with ourselves, a right relationship with your creation.
Suffering One, break our hearts as yours is broken. In the breaking, create in us clean hearts, pure hearts, undivided hearts. Hearts ready to make peace. Hearts ready to suffer for justice, truth, and the common good.
The congregation is invited to offer their own confessions
Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia