Prayers of Confession on Hiding
Adapted from Hebrews 4:12-13
Leader: The word of God is alive and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,
joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare
before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
All: Let us come before our holy God with all honesty,
knowing He sees each of our sins,
and seek forgiveness in the name of Christ, our Lord.
Charles Teixeira
Adapted from Psalm 10 & Romans 7:21-25
Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand.
Forget not the afflicted.
We call to you in our sorrow and frustration,
Lord God, eternal, everlasting God.
Why do you stand so far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
You are our God, even if we have ignored you!
Arise, O Lord; O God, we cry to you.
It looks like evil is winning out.
Even in our own lives sin keeps winning the battles.
“So I find it to be a law, that when I want to do right,
Evil lies close at hand…making me captive to sin
…wretched man that I am.” Romans 7:21-25
Have mercy on us, O God,
For we are sinners, captives to sin, enslaved by sin!
Hughes Oliphant Old. Leading in Prayer: A Workbook for Ministers (Kindle Locations 958-960).
Almighty God in heaven, we confess that we are sinners in the midst of a sinful world. It’s not just something we do; it’s something we are. It’s not merely a practice; it’s a state of being. Our sins are not just momentary lapses, but they reflect our inner selves. We try to hide them in the dark closets of our soul, but in Your presence, Lord, they come into the light. So, once again, we ask that You forgive us. Judge us not for what we are, but for who we are because of the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Grant us the strength and courage to live into our new identity through our Savior. In Christ’s Name we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
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
(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)
Eternal God, our judge and redeemer, we confess that we have tried to hide from You, for we have done wrong. We have lived for ourselves, and apart from You. We have turned from our neighbors and refused to bear the burdens of others. We have ignored the pain of the world and passed by the hungry, the poor, and the oppressed. In Your great mercy, forgive our sins and free us from selfishness, that we may choose Your will and obey Your commandments through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Gracious God, thank you for the responsibilities you have entrusted to us and for all you have given us to fulfill them. Sometimes, Lord, we can feel overwhelmed by the challenges. A part of us wants to shut down, to run and hide. Help us, we pray, not to be afraid. Give us clarity about our part in your great work. Give us courage to do what you place before us. Give us power to accomplish what we would never be able to do on our own. May you receive all the glory! Amen.
Almighty and gracious God, Your love is everlasting and filled with patience. In our sinfulness, we run away, yet You seek after us. We make foolish choices in spite of the fact that You teach us a better way. We hurt You and others, and, instead of hurting us back, You forgive us. Our pride often gets in the way of our efforts to reveal Your glory and goodness. We try to bear the imprint of Christ throughout the world, yet we often do just the opposite and fail to be the people You’ve called us to be in Your Word. Forgive the sin in our lives and grant us hearts to follow the example that You gave us in Your Son, Jesus. In His precious Name we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
(Prayer of Adoration)
Holy God of light and glory:
You alone are good.
You alone are pure and righteous.
And, therefore,
You alone are worthy of our praise,
our devotion and honor.
In the brilliance of Your light,
we are revealed as we are and
left speechless … without excuse;
were it not for Your grace and mercy
we are hopeless as well.
(Prayer of Adoration)
Seeing who we really are,
we can hide no longer behind our bravado,
our rationalizations and our protests.
We confess that we are sinners
in need of your forgiveness.
As individuals and as a body.
we therefore join our hearts and voices to pray
together confessing our sins …
(time of silence) AMEN.
Inspired by Amos 5:18-24
God has come to us and revealed Himself fully to us
Yet too often we hide ourselves from His love and salvation
Instead of focussing on you, Lord God, we focus on ourselves
Instead of trusting you to provide and accepting your gifts
We focus on gaining security for ourselves
Instead of worshipping you through our lives
We relegate worship of you to 90 minutes of song on a Sunday morning
We are willing to accept the sacrifice of your Son Jesus Christ for our sin
But we are not willing to make any sacrifices of our own
You call us to yourself, requiring nothing
You have removed all the barriers between yourself and us
But we consistently turn away
Scared of what might happen if we trust you with our whole lives
You have said: “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”
Make us thirsty for you
That we would seek you with our whole being
And discover again the joy that comes from centring our lives on you
Jacob Traeger