Prayers of Confession on Holiness
Psalm 5:1-2, 4 (ESV)
All: “Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.” “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” LORD, when we see Your goodness next to our sins, we groan. We groan because we don’t honor Your good name. We groan because we know we stopped believing that You love us and that You will provide for us. You have delighted in right things, holy things; we have delighted in sinful things, in dirty things. Help us, O God, to delight in You again, and to rest in Your great love and power for us.
Inspired by Mark 9:42-50
Gracious Father, the words of scripture are not without harshness in relation to our sin. We are prone to lead others astray in our words and actions. Knowingly or unknowingly done, we are condemned. Millstones tied about the neck and sunk to the bottom of the sea is likened as a better portion for us than leading another away from your goodness. The removal of hand and foot is declared better than allowing them to strike a blow, grasp a stolen item, or covet a neighbor’s possessions. How barbaric the image of an eye being removed to save us from the pit of hell. Yet, you are holy and we are not. You are righteous and we are far from it. We confess both our tendency towards sin and recognize the greatness of its offense to your holiness, that you hate that which is contrary to your goodness and intensely desire that we would flee temptation to sin by any and all means. Forgive us, we pray and do not act in harshness towards us, but in your divine mercy, may we be restored.
Holy God
We are holy,
Not in the sense of any rightness within us,
But because we are in a relationship with you,
We are holy because you gift that it is so.
We are not called to into a division of us and them,
People should see you in us,
Just as we should see ourselves in each other.
Gracious and eternal God, You are holy, You are mighty, You are worthy of all praise. We try to follow You, we try to listen to You, we try to love You, but we fall short time and again. Our self-centered sinfulness strains the relationship You want with us, and causes our hearts to become calloused. But thank You for loving us, for extending grace and forgiveness, for melting our hardened hearts, and for providing a path for redemption through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Lord Jesus Christ, you call us to high standards, and we continuously fall short. You tell us to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile; to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Not only do we fail to comply with these commands, we find them so outlandish that we don’t even try to live up to them. Forgive us for our failures and for our fatigue; for our stubbornness and for our sin. Hear us now as we continue to confess our sins in silence…
Silent Prayer
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
God of righteousness, you are holy, set apart from everything in creation. All too often we disregard your commandments. We ignore the instruction you have given us. We don’t listen to your Spirit’s leading. Please give us a love for your commandments like the Psalmist as we silently confess our sins to you now…
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Merciful Lord, You are holy, You are mighty, You are worthy of praise! Holy Father, You are majestic, You are powerful, You are awesome in every way! We have seen Your glory, And experienced Your joy. But often our hearts are fickle, and the awe and wonder of Your saving grace becomes common and mundane. In Your mercy, please forgive our sin; cleanse us from our unrighteousness and heal our wayward and feckless hearts. We find hope and comfort in Your promise to forgive. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. But thou, 0 Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those who confess their faults. Restore those who are penitent; according to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, 0 most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous and sober life, to the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
Thomas Cranmer, The Book of Common Prayer, Great Confession for Morning and Evening Prayer.
Merciful Lord, You are holy, You are mighty, You are worthy of praise! Holy Father, You are majestic, You are powerful, You are awesome in every way! We have seen Your glory, And experienced Your joy. But often our hearts are fickle, and the awe and wonder of Your saving grace becomes common and mundane. In Your mercy, please forgive our sin; cleanse us from our unrighteousness and heal our wayward and feckless hearts. We find hope and comfort in Your promise to forgive. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
We have been created by God, to be loved by God, and to receive our identity from God. But in our everyday lives, as we go about our work, school, interacting with our family and friends, we don’t always behold God and receive our identity from him. We call other things holy. So as we come before God in worship this morning, we acknowledge that and we pray that our whole lives will be formed in worship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, there are parts of our lives where we don’t acknowledge you as Lord:
Often we are unsatisfied with who you have made us to be
We seek validation from others more than we seek it from you
Lord Jesus, there are parts of our lives where we don’t acknowledge you as Saviour:
Often our first response to challenges in life is problem-solving rather than prayer
Instead of being shaped by your cross, we try to avoid pain and suffering
And this disconnects us from our neighbours
Holy Spirit, there are parts of our lives where we don’t look to you for hope:
Often we fear the unknowns of the future
Or we put our hope in technology, education, or celebrities
And don’t believe that you are working all things for good
Father, we come before you and acknowledge our weakness and our distraction.
We believe and trust you Lord, help our unbelief.
Renew us through your Holy Spirit
And give us the same heart as Christ Jesus
To love you with all our heart
And love our neighbour as ourselves
Amen
Jacob Traeger
Looking for More Liturgical Elements?
Check out our Calls to Worship on Holiness.