Prayers of Confession on Doubt

Adapted from Psalm. 46; Matt. 7:21–29

God, our rock and refuge, there are plenty of things that we allow to erode our faith in you. When life gets stormy, we let our uncertainty cloud our trust in you. We think we know better and start relying on ourselves to be able to weather the rain. Forgive our lack of hope and the disbelief that drowns us. Allow us to hold on to you, our rock, and to build our lives on the foundation of your love. In the name of Jesus Christ, our stalwart and our shelter. Amen.

Kimberly Bracken Long Ed., Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation.

Heavenly Father, it is astounding how many ways we find to doubt You. At times we doubt Your power and Your ability to do actual miracles in our lives. In other situations, we doubt that Your methods and solutions are the best way to go. We fool ourselves into believing that our ways will be superior to Your ways. And, most importantly, we doubt that all You are doing is the result of your great love for us. Our heads believe in Your love, but our hearts are lagging behind. Have mercy upon us, Lord. Help us with our disbelief. Forgive us for looking through worldly eyes instead of asking You for heavenly vision. Thank You for Your endless grace and patience. More than anything, we want to walk in Your will. We pray all of this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Gracious God, we come before you with humility, recognizing that doubt has led our decisions. We have allowed fear to lead, rather than love. Because of this, we have been unkind to our families, our friends, and especially our enemies. We pray that you will continue to transform our lives into the image of Christ, so we may be led by your love.

Submitted by Laura Murray

Almighty God, we cannot escape your presence. Even in our darkest moments, you are there. When we celebrate, you are there. When we doubt your presence, you still are there. Please forgive us for the times we try to flee from you. Confident of your presence among us today, we come to you in silent confession…

Submitted by Austin D. Hill

Dear Heavenly Father, We are grateful that we can come to You at any time, about anything. We know that You listen to the earnest cries of our hearts. We know that You have great power; You are the Creator of heaven and earth. Yet, at times, we are still prone to doubt. Sometimes we are skeptical that our prayers can even be answered. Our earthly minds cannot comprehend a resolution. Nothing seems to have worked and our situation starts to seem hopeless. Lord, we confess to You our disbelief, And ask for Your help. Have mercy on us in our doubts and give us vision and hope for what You will do. Deepen our trust in You, and increase our faith so that we can believe fully again in Your faithfulness. We ask this humbly in Christ’s Holy Name. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Heavenly Father, it is astounding how many ways we find to doubt You. At times we doubt Your power and Your ability to do actual miracles in our lives. In other situations, we doubt that Your methods and solutions are indeed the best way to go. We fool ourselves into believing that our ways will be superior to Your ways. And, most importantly, we doubt that all You are doing for us is the result of a great love for us. Our heads believe in Your love, but our hearts are lagging behind. Have mercy upon us, Lord. Help us with our disbelief. Forgive us for looking through worldly eyes instead of asking You for heavenly vision. Thank You for Your endless grace and patience. More than anything, we want to walk in Your will. We pray all of this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Source Unknown

Lord, sometimes it’s so difficult to place our trust in you. You make incredible promises to us in your word. You say that through your power, we’ll be able to do even greater things than Jesus did in his ministry. And yet we doubt.  Almighty God, creator of all things, renew our faith in you and your power as we silently confess our sins to you now…

Submitted by Austin D. Hill

Gracious and loving God, we confess that despite Your presence with us, we are reluctant to go forward in faith in our daily lives. We don’t want to step out of the boat. We’re afraid to walk with You. We’re doubting, troubled, and timid. We lack commitment and trust. Forgive us, O Lord, for our sin. Renew within us a vivid awareness that You are with us. May this awareness make it possible to go where You want us to go, to do what You want us to do, and to give Your name glory. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Heavenly Father, forgive us for delving so much into our own lives that we forget the love and purpose with which you have created us.  When we are faced with doubt and despair, help us to turn to you with faith and confidence.  Through your Holy Spirit, remind us that you have made us in your image and claimed us again in Jesus.  Hear our prayers as we continue our confession in silence…

Submitted by Allen Thompson

Heavenly Father, we confess that we come to this day of resurrection as imperfect people.  Although we may have faith, we also carry doubts and apprehensions.  Just as Jesus’s disciples were unsure of his presence with them, we are unsure of your presence with us.  We go out into a world of demands without the full confidence that you are our guide and our sustainer, and we are too often motivated by our own shortcomings and anxieties than by your grace and love.  Forgive us, and help us to see your Holy Spirit’s work in all things.  We pray these things in the name of Jesus, who returned to his disciples despite their own faults, and we ask that you hear us as we continue our confession in silence…

Submitted by Allen Thompson

O Holy One, we call to you and name you as eternal, ever-present, and boundless in love. Yet there are times, O God, when we fail to recognize you in the dailyness of our lives. Sometimes shame clenches tightly around our hearts, and we hide our true feelings. Sometimes fear makes us small, and we miss the chance to speak from our strength. Sometimes doubt invades our hopefulness, and we degrade our own wisdom.

Holy God, in the daily round from sunrise to sunset, remind us again of your holy presence hovering near us and in us. Free us from shame and self-doubt. Help us to see you in the moment-by-moment possibilities to live honestly, to act courageously, and to speak from our wisdom.

Gracious, patient God, too often we don’t trust you. We don’t trust you enough to be honest with you, to share our doubts with you, or to be real with other people about our struggles. Lord, please help us to be more honest with you and with others as we confess our weaknesses, fears, and doubts to you now in silence of our hearts…   

Austin D. Hill

Holy God, we confess that we feel like we are incapable of doing what you ask of us. In our hesitation and doubt, we confess that we do not do what you ask of us. Forgive us for our fear. Forgive us for failing to see that you are with us. Forgive us for staying put instead of moving with you.

Cody Sandahl

Gracious God, we know Your Word, and value Your love, but we don’t find it natural to trust Your purposes, especially when tests and trials interrupt our plans. When we doubt Your goodness, forgive us. When we question Your loving presence, forgive us. Remind us of the trials and tests You faced, taking our sin to the cross so that we might be reconciled to You now and forever. Renew us in the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit, through Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church