Prayers of Confession on Children

Dear Lord, we come before You as Your children to give You honor and praise. You are the One and Only true God, the Giver of life and the Sustainer of our souls. We are grateful for Your grace, how You love us, how you call us to be Your hands and feet. Responding to Your great mercy, we need to confess how we have sinned and fallen short of the people You  created us to be. We have said and done mean and selfish things, we have hurt others, and we have lived as if the universe revolves around us. We have strayed from our worship of You and gone our own way. We are sorry. Please forgive us. Cause us to truly repent and turn around to face You. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Submitted by Dustin Ray

Lord, You are a good and gracious God: Offering forgiveness for all our mistakes and failures and restoring us to right relationship with You. Why, then, do we wait to confess our sin to You? Why do we wallow in our muck longer than we need? Our embarrassment hinders us. Our feelings of shame and guilt cause us to hide. You are quick to embrace us as Your children; cause us to be quick to turn back to You. Your mercies are new every morning; let us enjoy Your presence and Your grace. Forgive us, Lord, and allow us to live our lives fully for You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Holy and merciful God, we come to You as Your humble children: in our sinfulness, and our failure to follow Your Word in loving our neighbors. God, You alone, know our hearts and how often we have sinned; in our selfishness, in ignoring Your calling to go after the one, in forgetting that Your Gospel isn’t just for the church, but for all. In Your great mercy, forgive our sins. Help us to live in a way that is glorifying to You, choosing to obey Your commandments, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Dear Lord, we come before You now as Your children who need You. God, You are the Creator of all things, the Giver of life itself. You have made us in Your image and invited us to be Your children and the heirs of Your Kingdom. You have called us to be Your servants and to be part of Your Kingdom work, using the gifts You have given us. We stop now to confess that we have sinned and fallen short of what You would have us be. We have not always followed You or served You with our whole hearts. We have sinned and broken our promises to You, to one another, and to ourselves.

We are sorry; please forgive us. Wash us clean and make us new. Turn our hearts toward You and renew our hope in You. By Your Spirit, give us the courage, the commitment, and the opportunity to serve You each day. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Gracious God, we are called to be a joyful people, giving thanks for You and Your good gifts. There are times, however, when sin and sorrow grow, pushing joy to the side. We lose sight of Your grace, and instead fall into despair. We are consumed by loss, distracted by stuff, and crippled with fear. We focus on our lack, rather than Your love. Lift our eyes, Lord Jesus, and renew our joy in You. Remind us that: in Your sacrifice is our forgiveness, in Your death is our resurrection, in Your coming is our joy! Through Christ we pray, Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Heavenly Father, you have claimed us as your own children. That claim last through our entire lives and even beyond. Like children, though, we don’t always listen to you. We think we know what’s best for ourselves. Lord, please help us to believe in you, to trust your plans as we silently confess our sins to you now…

Submitted by Austin D. Hill

Eternal and everlasting God, we confess that we often forget we are Your children. At times, we live our lives as if You don’t exist, and we fall short of being credible witnesses of Your love and grace For the times we have failed You, we ask Your forgiveness. Clear our minds and open our hearts so that we may be faithful to You in everything we say and do. We ask all this in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Father, as adults, we can fool ourselves into being quite self-sufficient. Yet, You have called us to be precariously dependent upon You. When we see how Jesus welcomes the little children, we can also see that You love us greatly and unconditionally.  Therefore, we confess any and all obstacles that might keep us from approaching You openly, humbly, gladly.  May we shed before You all our pretensions to importance and simply follow You.  In Jesus’ name, we give You thanks and we come. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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