Prayers of Confession on Darkness
Adapted from 1 John 1:1-10
Loving God, you are the light of the world. Through Jesus Christ, your light shines in the darkness. We love the darkness, though. We let our secret sins fester and grow in the darkness while we avoid the light and fail to let your light shine through us. Cleanse us with your pure light, O Lord, as we confess our secret sins to you.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Adapted from 1 John 2:1-17
Holy God, we have not lived in the light. We have not walked as Jesus did. We compromise all too often, living both for you and for ourselves. Your word calls us to account and your Holy Spirit convicts us. We fail to love others, instead choosing to live in darkness. Please cleanse us with your holy light as we confess our brokenness to you.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Adapted from John 1:10-11; Isaiah 52:7-10
Father in Heaven, we confess that we never knew you had come down. We confess that we were in the dark as to your light among us. Though the world was created through your Word, we could not grasp the reality that he had entered into our neighborhood and taken up residence. We could not receive him whom we did not see. In all his humility, in his appearance in unexpected places, we were blind. We have only ourselves to blame for not opening our eyes of faith and ears of understanding. May You forgive us and once again on this Nativity of Christ’s birth proclaim the good news of your comfort and redemption to us, so that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God. Amen.
Scott Bullock
Gracious God, You have called us out of darkness and into the light of Your love. You have redeemed us and made us whole in order to set us free from bondage. The challenge You place before us is to die to self, surrender our wills, and serve sacrificially. But we cling to our sinful humanity and to the trappings of this temporal life. Forgive us for being stubborn, selfish, and sinful. Set us free to embrace the values of Your Kingdom, transform our hearts to long for You, and empower us to live courageously as Your children. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Allen Thompson
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
Lord God, we know that you are life, the life which is the light of the world
But sometimes we allow the darkness to close in
We find ourselves driven apart from you
We confess that we do not always trust Christ’s gifts
Sacrificing grace and truth in order to get ahead in the world
We do not always listen to your Spirit’s teaching and direction
Trusting instead in our own intellect or hard work
Please forgive our thoughtlessness, carelessness, willful ignorance and disobedience
Jacob Traeger
Gracious God, You have called us out of darkness and into the light of Your love. You have redeemed us and made us whole in order to set us free from bondage. The challenge You place before us is to die to self, surrender our wills, and serve sacrificially. But we cling to our sinful humanity and to the trappings of this temporal life. Forgive us for being stubborn, selfish, and sinful. Set us free to embrace the values of Your Kingdom, transform our hearts to long for You, and empower us to live courageously as Your children. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
All-gracious God, you promise that your light drowns out darkness, yet the darkness is so persistent. We cannot see in front of us, so we look to our own knowledge and ways. Forgive us for turning to self-reliance, rather than turning to you. Help us to trust you, and to live believing you are the Light of the World, and greater than any darkness. With this confidence, may we give hope to the world.
Submitted by Laura Murray
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.
Dear God, You are the King, You are the Lord, You are the One who delivers us from the darkness. You are our Maker and our Redeemer and our Comforter. We give You praise. You are all-wise and You know us inside and out. We come to You now to open the doors of our hearts and let You into our hidden places of darkness and sin. We confess that we have said and done things that are against Your will and that have hurt others. Among other things, we have stepped on other people, acted selfishly, and said hurtful things, falling short of who You would have us be. We also confess that we have often been too busy to stop and listen to Your voice. We don’t act on the promise to rest in You. Lord, we are sorry. Please forgive us. Holy Spirit, fill us with Your hope and peace. In Jesus’ Name we pray, amen
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
God of forgiveness and mercy, hear our prayer as we confess our sin. With moments so critical we let time go by. With deliverance so near we linger in the darkness. With Christ as our armor, we yet fear the unknown foe. With the night having passed, we still hesitate to greet the new day. 0 God, lead us forth, that we may meet the moment you graciously ciously give us. Dispel the shadows, so that your will may be clear. Clothed with light and new life in Christ, let us go forth as those awake to your will.
James G. Kirk, When We Gather, Revised Edition: A Book of Prayers for Worship.
Based on John 1 and Romans 5
Lord God, we know that you are life, the life which is the light of the world
But sometimes we allow the darkness to close in
We find ourselves driven apart from you
We confess that we do not always trust Christ’s gifts
Sacrificing grace and truth in order to get ahead in the world
We do not always listen to your Spirit’s teaching and direction
Trusting instead in our own intellect or hard work
Please forgive our thoughtlessness, carelessness, willful ignorance and disobedience
I tell you this: To those who have received Christ and believed in his name, God has given the right to be called children of God. And God demonstrates his own love for us in this way: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! So I say to you that your sins are forgiven. Live joyfully, serving God in the freedom of this reconciliation.
Submitted by Jacob Traeger
We are a people that prefer the darkness. The darkness hides that which we wish others dare not see and that which we loathe about ourselves, our twisted thoughts, perverted practices, and foolish follies. The darkness keeps us from being made, from being exposed, from being set free. We fear the reality of our lives that the light will illuminate, but in such fear we say no to freedom that the light brings. John proclaims that the incarnate Word is the life and light of humanity and the darkness has not overcome it. We confess our preference for the land of deep darkness, for wallowing in our sins and trespasses, and admit our need for the light to shine upon us. Forgive us, O Lord for our darkened hearts and minds and bring us your light! AMEN.
Scott Bullock
Dearest Father, we long for light, but dwell in darkness. We crave the warmth of the sun, but crawl into our caverns of sin and sadness. We are a people who prefer the misery and melancholy that we know then the majesty of Your mercy and might that you offer. We are like the tired and tragic creature of Tolkien’s imagination, withered and worn, waylaid by our own wanton wickedness, shrinking from the light, and slinking into the shadows. Free us from this state. Rescue us from the night that enshrouds us. Have mercy upon our wretchedness. Illuminate our hearts, our souls, and our minds. Make us righteous people who, “shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).
Scott Bullock
Adapted from Romans 3:10-18
Father, we speak the truth about who we are apart from you. Paul summarizes our condition in Romans 3 using the truth found in the sacred writings of the Psalter and Prophets,
There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes
We confess that though we are repulsed by the gravity of these words, that they are a truthful statement of the depravity of our hearts and express the darkness of our souls in the light of your goodness. May you cleanse us, forgive us, and restore the inner person within us to more accurately reflect your image. Amen.
Scott Bullock
Roman’s 8:5-8 (ESV)
Leader: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
All: Oh Lord, You have saved Your children from minds set on the flesh, you have delivered us from the domain of darkness, but we continue to sin. We continue to set our minds on death, thinking that it will bring us the life we long for. Oh Lord, have mercy upon us, according to Your grace in Christ Jesus, who is the Savior of all His people. Amen!
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Dear God, my Heavenly Father,
My heart is unclean, but you can purify it.
My heart is full of darkness, but you can illuminate it.
My heart is sad, but you can comfort it.
My heart is wicked, but your love can change it.
My heart is cold, but your love can warm it.
My heart is weak, but you can strengthen it.
My heart clings to the earth, but you ca fill it with heavenly desires.
My heart is full of sin, but you can adorn it with all virtues.
My heart is wayward and inconstant, but you can make it content.
Come then Holy Spirit and fill me with your love. Amen
Gertrude the Great (1232-1291)