Prayers of Confession on Control

Divine Creator, your ways are above our ways. No matter how hard we try, you will always confound us. Too often we try to reduce you into something we can fully comprehend, or something we can control. Lord of all, please give us humility as we come to you in silent confession…

Submitted by Austin D. Hill

Gracious God, In the midst of difficult and challenging times, You remain Lord of all creation. We acknowledge how often we choose to depend upon our resources rather than depend upon You. Through the Holy Spirit, You send us courage, Yet our fears continue to hold us. Through the Holy Spirit, You send us comfort, Yet our unease still controls us Through the Holy Spirit, You send us truth, Yet our own wisdom still guides us. Forgive us and free us from our sin Grow our trust and dependence upon You. Strengthen, encourage, and teach us. We pray through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Gracious Spirit, you are at work all around us. You prompt us to follow you, and you convict us when we have missed your leading. Please forgive us for the times that we miss your presence. Please humble us when we think we can control your will. Soften our hearts to be more perceptive to your presence as we silently confess our sins to you now.…

Submitted by Austin D. Hill

Living God, Today I confess that I allow my fear to drown out Your voice. I am afraid of the unknown and things outside my control. Help me hand these items over to you every hour of the day. Help me be quiet and still, waiting for Your will to be revealed rather than running ahead of You. Keep my heart open to the Spirit’s working. Remind me that I have daily bread from Heaven and a safe shelter in You when I am tempted to look elsewhere for hope and help. Through the power of the Lord Jesus, Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Merciful God,

We come before you with thankful hearts. Thankful for the many gifts you have given us. You have clothed us and given us shelter. You have given us food to fill our stomachs, friendship to fill our hearts. And yet, if we are honest with you, we know that we fail to follow you in life-giving ways. Instead of trusting in your power, we trust in our own strength. Instead of trusting in your provision, we rely on our own ability to provide. And when it comes to your community, your church, we only commit so much. We are, like the Corinthians, unable to give up our rights for the sake of others. We care too highly for our own ways, our own thoughts, our own perspectives, and not nearly enough on your Word and your influence on our lives. Grant us O lord, a contrite spirit, that we may turn to you, that our community might resemble your kingdom more fully,

Amen.

Stuart Strachan Jr.

(Prayer of Adoration)

Good and Gracious Lord,

You hold us in the palm of Your strong hand,

working all things for our good and to Your glory.

There is no place we can go

that escapes your notice

and is hidden from your loving attention.

We are amazed by your power

and in awe of Your grace:

Your take what’s inadvertently or intentionally evil

and bend it to Your will and ways.

(Prayer of Confession)

We cover our sin.

Thinking we can hide from You.

we run, afraid you’ll find us out;

afraid that if you – or others – really knew us

no-one would love us.

We try to run our own lives,

and the lives of others,

attempting to be our own gods.

We love you too little,

we love others hardly at all,

and we love ourselves too much.

Hear our silent confession

and our whispers as we name our sin before You;

and, we pray, forgive us!

(Silence … 30-45 seconds)

Amen.

Richard Herman

Heavenly Father, Your love for us is so very evident. Everywhere we look, we see tangible proof of Your great care for us. Yet, when it comes to following You, we confess that we often don’t surrender our entire selves. We hold back portions of our lives that we would rather control instead of releasing them to Your loving care. Have mercy upon us, Lord. Forgive us for frequently saying one thing and doing another. May our words and our actions line up. Make us willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, knowing full well that You will never leave us or forsake us. We pray this humbly, in Christ’s Name. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Lord of all, you are in control. We live under the illusion that we have control, yet all life is sustained by you. We live for our own purposes, we try to become gods over our own lives. We unjustly subjugate others and create lives of captivity. Free us, Oh Lord, from our need to control. Help us to place our trust in you as we silently confess our sins…

Submitted by Austin D. Hill

Please forgive us, O Lord, for we often forget how powerful you are. You are the potentate of time, yet we think we rule our lives. We are sorry for creating images of you that are smaller than reality. Please show yourself to us as we silently confess our sins to you now…

Submitted by Austin D. Hill

Dear Lord, we come to You today in worship and praise, knowing that You are God and King. You are worthy of our praise. We also come recognizing that we are sinners and stand here in need of You, our Savior. We have sinned against You and others and ourselves and have wanted to go our own way. We have been stubborn, controlling, and selfish, and have not been faithful to You. We confess that we haven’t been good witnesses of Your love and grace, and have not stood firm in our faith. We are so sorry, oh Lord; please forgive us. Change our hearts and cause us to repent and turn toward You. Fill us, Holy Spirit, making us new and whole. Wash us clean and breathe Your breath into us. In the Name of Jesus we pray. 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

Gracious God, we believe our hard work should get us comfort, conveniences, and control. We rely on our abilities to create a life independent from you. Father, forgive us, because we need you more than anything in this world. Let us be poor in spirit that we might receive the kingdom of heaven.

Submitted by Laura Murray

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Almighty God, harsh words and personal attacks can bring out the worst in us. We find ourselves spending energy on thoughts of retaliation and plans to protect ourselves. Father forgive us. We long to have the strength of Jesus, who did not return evil for evil. Let us be meek that we might inherit the earth.

Submitted by Laura Murray

In the days of the early church, believers affirmed their faith by saying, “Jesus is Lord.” We give lip-service to that same affirmation, but find it difficult to surrender control of our lives. Instead of honoring You as Lord, we act as the master of our own souls. Forgive us, and remind us that above all names, Your Name is holy, Your yoke is easy, Your burden is light. Call us forth to receive Your mercy and to walk in the joy of following You. We pray these things in the Name above all names: the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Holy God, we can be so full of fear at times – afraid of the unknown; afraid of what is beyond our control; afraid of what is strange to us. And we know that fear stops us in our tracks, hinders our action, and gives excuse for not doing what you call us to do and what you empower us to do. So we pray that you will give us courage, O God. Give us strong hearts and open hands, that we might set aside our fear, and walk confidently into this world you have made. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Forgive us, O God, when we limit you –
When we remake you in our image,
When we claim our causes as your own,
When we box you in,
And explain you away,
And in our attempts at understanding, whittle away all mystery.
Forgive us for our human impulses, and change us:
Awaken us to your blinding glory,
Confound us by your love,
Shower us with grace so that we will be made new,
Recreated in your image,
Grateful for all that we cannot know.
In the name of Christ, who brought us closer to you, we pray. Amen.

Beth Merrill Neel, Blog: ‘Hold Fast to What Is Good’. Used with permission.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Loving and gracious God, we know we do not always live the life to which we are called: We turn away from You, and from our true selves. You command us to shine Your light, but we often hide it instead. We are prideful and self-righteous, and desire control instead of trusting You to guide our steps. We know that You love us, that You do not abandon us, and that You pursue us even when we turn away from You. Thank You for loving us unconditionally, Forgive us, we pray, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Gracious God, we find ourselves in circumstances we have not chosen, and we scurry to find any sense of normalcy. We know that You are the Rock, yet we lean on other foundations; We know that You are sovereign, but we seek security in our own control; We know that You give comfort, but we elevate comforts of our own design; We know that You satisfy, but we keep scrolling; We know that You set us free, but addictions grip us tightly; We know that You call us to rest, but we keep struggling. By grace, forgive us. In mercy, meet us. By Your Holy Spirit, equip us to walk in the newness of life-with-Christ, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Save us, Glorious Christ, from every false understanding and motivation

Save us from the temptation to just stay on the mountain

Save us from the temptation to never engage

Save us from the temptation of trying to capture and control your power and glory

You are Mystery, You are Holy, You are God

Hear our confession as we bow in wonder and worship

Time of silent confession

Prayers of Confession on Control

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