Prayers of Confession on Compassion

Adapted from Psalm 79:1-9, New Living Translation

O Lord, how long will you be angry with us? Forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire? Please do not hold us guilty for our sins! Let your compassion quickly meet our needs, for we are on the brink of despair. Help us, O God of our salvation! Help us for the glory of your name. Save us and forgive our sins for the honor of your name. Amen.

Cody Sandahl

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Adapted from The Valley of Vision

Pastor: Father in Heaven, I have sinned times without number. I am guilty of pride and unbelief. I’ve failed to delight my heart in your Word and have neglected you in my daily life.

All: My transgressions and sins accuse me! But I praise you because they will not condemn me; indeed, you have laid each and every one on Christ!

Pastor: Go on and subdue my corruptions and grant me grace to live above them. Let not the passions of the flesh nor the lustings of the mind bring my spirit into subjection, but rule over me in liberty and power.

All: Thank you for your compassion and love, for all the acts of discipline I experience, and for sometimes putting me into the furnace to refine my gold and remove my dross.

Submitted by Dustin Ray

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Forgiving God, in a world filled with so much pain, we confess that we often shut our eyes to keep from seeing things as they truly are. Grant us the strength to face the reality of our world, and give us the courage to bring Your light to those who walk in darkness. Open our eyes to our own misunderstandings, our own failures, and our own faults, God, lead us in the footsteps of Jesus, who reveals Your glory through His life, His teachings, and His love. Help us see others as You see them. In the holy Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Gracious God, today we think of those we have ignored when they were suffering, excluded when they different, written off when they were difficult, harassed when they were our enemies. We take this moment to picture those specific people. We silently ask you to forgive us as we reflect on those people we’ve hurt… 

 Time of silent reflection and confession.. 

 Submitted by Austin D. Hill

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Most holy and merciful Father, we your wayward children do humbly confess our shortcomings and our sin. All we like sheep have gone astray and have turned every one to his or her own way-We have lived too much for ourselves and not for you. We have not loved our neighbors as we should, nor faithfully followed our Master in unselfish service. But will you pardon all our offenses. Create within us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. May we go on our way with gladness, assured of your compassion; and forgetting the things which are behind, may we forget those things which are behind us and pressing toward the mark of our high calling in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. 

A Book of Worship for Free Churches, Language Modernized by Stuart Strachan Jr.

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Almighty and loving God, all of us here today are hurting. Some of us are hurting as the result of circumstances beyond our control. Some of us are hurting because of our own choices. Some of us are feeling the pain of others. No matter what the circumstances, as we gather here today, help us remember who we are: sinners saved by grace. Lord, for the times we have failed to show Your compassion to others – forgive us! For the times we have failed to trust You – forgive us! For the times we have failed to praise You – forgive us! Help us always to remember that You are the Giver of mercy and wholeness, provided for us through Your Son’s death and resurrection. Heal our brokenness and make us whole once more. In Christ’s Holy Name we pray. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Father God, you see us; you have compassion; and you care for your greatest creation – people. You have also called us to notice, to listen, and to love others. Yet in our selfishness, we have ignored those before us and we have rushed past those who have needed us. Gracious God, meet us and heal us that we might be the light of love you are calling us to be.

Submitted by Laura Murray

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Each of us, Lord, has failed to fully observe your beauty.

We fall in love with our own image and are left disappointed and alone.

Please be faithful to us, Jesus, even when we turn from You.

We trust that You will be stalwart, our dedicated Savior, to the end.

Lord, as we seek to embrace our neighbors, no matter the loves of their hearts,

help us to see them as You do, with compassion and zeal for their good.

Forgive us, Holy Spirit, for when we have excluded our neighbors

from our hearts or our tables, knowing how deeply You cherish them.

Forgive us now, in the name of Jesus and for his glory,

and may your face be shown vibrantly where we have failed to show ours.

Submitted by Charles Teixeira

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When we allow darkness to overcome the light,

forgive us, Lord.

When we reduce Christmas to plastic and tinsel,

have mercy on us, Father.

When hardness of heart keeps us from seeing

and hearing and touching the needs of others,

 let your grace consume us, O God.

When the wars around us are of no concern,

forgive us, Lord, and move us to compassion

        for those who suffer.

When our caring is not extended to action,

move us to seek justice for our brothers and sisters.

We come to confess our sinfulness

      before you and before each other.

Remove all barriers that divide us,

      and let there be no obstacle to our love for you

      and for one another. Amen.

All pray in silence.

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Almighty and most merciful Father, we are thankful that your mercy is

higher than the heavens, wider than our wanderings,

deeper than all our sin. Forgive our careless attitudes toward your purposes, our refusal to relieve the suffering of others,

our envy of those who have more than we have,

our obsession with creating a life of constant pleasure,

our indifference to the treasures of heaven,

Help us to change our way of life

so that we may desire what is good,

love what you love,

and do what you command,

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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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

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Almighty God, there is no one else like You. You are always true, as are your promises. You listen to us patiently with the compassion of a good Father. You also answer us with perfect wisdom. You brought us eternal salvation when no one else could. We confess that we sometimes neglect prayer and time with You. We also admit that we fail to follow through Your commandments. Yet, You call us to repentance and in You we find the abundance of life. Forgive us, Lord, for our failures and our lack of trust, and grant us the precious gift of Your loving grace. In the name of Jesus, our Savior we pray. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Adapted from “The Precious Blood” in The Valley of Vision

Leader: Blessed Lord Jesus, before your cross I kneel and see the heinousness of my sin, my iniquity that caused you to be made a curse, the evil that provokes divine wrath.

All: Show me the enormity of my guilt by the crown of thorns, the pierced hands and feet, the bruised body, the dying cries. Your blood is the blood of incarnate God; its worth is infinite, and its value is beyond all thought.

Leader: Sin is my sickness, my monster, my foe, my enemy, born in my birth, alive in my life, strong in my character, intermingling with my every thought. Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light?

All: Yet your compassions reach over me, your heart rushes to my rescue, your love endured my curse, your mercy bore the stripes I deserved. Let me walk in humiliation, bathed in your blood with a tender conscious, triumphing gloriously as an heir of salvation.

Submitted by Dustin Ray

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All-Gracious God, we have become callous to those in need, holding back compassion yet unsparing with judgment.  We defend our motivations, rather than using all you have given us to love and care for the least of these. Hear our confessions and heal our hearts.  May we be people of mercy, as you are merciful, and people of love, just as you loved us.

Submitted by Laura Murray 

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Even as we eagerly await your return, Lord Jesus, we must confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart, with our entire mind, nor with all of our strength. We have loved our rituals and our ruts more than you. Forgive us our complacency and our unwarranted fear of death. Your sacrifice has once and for all covered all our sins. We trust your salvation. Amen

Bud Thoreen

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Generous Lord Jesus