Prayers of Confession on Humility
Adapted from Phillipians 2
Jesus, though you were in very nature God, you did not consider equality with God as something to be used to your own advantage. Rather, you humbled yourself, you made yourself nothing. Lord, you are the ultimate example for us, but we ignore it. We seek our own bet interests and puff ourselves up with pride. Please humble us as we silently confess our sins to you now…
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Holy God, we come before You in humility, for we do not live as we ought. We do not love You with our whole heart and mind and strength. We do not love our neighbor as ourselves. We are sinners in need of rescue and transformation. So we pray, in all humility, that You will change our hearts and minds, that You will show us again how to love others the way You love us, that You will grant us the grace to experience your Spirit’s guidance and love, that You will put power and courage in our hearts to do Your will. This we pray in Jesus’ Name and for His sake. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Gracious, almighty God, we think of John the Baptist, who was a faithful witness to you. He understood that this role was pointing people toward you and not himself. Yet we know that all too often we elevate ourselves. We don’t deflect the glory that comes our way while we are all too eager to pass responsibility and blame to others. Please give us humility and help us to point people toward you as we silently confess our sins to you now….
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Gracious and loving God, we turn to You seeking Your mercy. You call us to focus on You, but we focus on ourselves instead. You call us to be humble, but we gloat in our pride. You call us to abandon ourselves, but we cling to our achievements. You invite us to decrease as You increase and to disappear as You become more visible. Forgive us for our boasting and bragging. Help us to pull focus from ourselves and to remember that our true worth comes from You and You alone. In the Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Holy and merciful God, we come to You as Your humble children: in our sinfulness, and our failure to follow Your Word in loving our neighbors. God, You alone, know our hearts and how often we have sinned; in our selfishness, in ignoring Your calling to go after the one, in forgetting that Your Gospel isn’t just for the church, but for all. In Your great mercy, forgive our sins. Help us to live in a way that is glorifying to You, choosing to obey Your commandments, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Almighty God, in Jesus, you meet us where we are. You condescend to our level, yet we wrongfully assume that we are equal to you. We live as rulers of this world masters of own destiny, ignoring your will, and harming others. You alone are worthy of praise and devotion. Even when we do recognize your lordship, it is only fleeting. How quickly we resume our old way of life and live for ourselves first. On this Sunday, we offer again our allegiance to you as you as we come to you silent confession.
Time of silent reflection and confession…
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, your face is hidden from us by our sins, and we forget your mercy in the blindness of our hearts.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Cleanse us from all our offenses, and deliver us from proud thoughts and vain desires. With lowliness and meekness may we draw near to you, confessing our faults, confiding in your grace, and finding in you our refuge and strength; through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Loving Father, You receive all who come humbly before You. Yet we approach You far too often with much satisfaction and inappropriate pride. We think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. We forget Your Son’s plain teaching: those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Forgive us and free us from this tyranny to self. Empower us to serve You joyfully and wholeheartedly. We pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. In the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Lord Jesus Christ, you gave up everything to come down from heaven in order to love and serve us. Unlike you, we find self-sacrifice hard. Most of us look for ways to puff ourselves up, so that we look better in other people’s eyes. We fool ourselves into thinking that we can make ourselves look good in your eyes, too. Send us your Spirit, that we would be more humble. We long to be like you, our loving shepherd, and we thank you for hearing our prayers as we continue to confess in silence…
Silent Prayer
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
We confess, loving God, that we are not a society of saints, but a fellowship of sinners. We are the forgiven, who still need forgiveness. We are the redeemed, who are still being redeemed. We do not compare ourselves with others; we compare ourselves only with Christ, in order that we may be humble in your presence, and in the presence of others. We are thankful, O Lord, that you have not given up on us, and that you are still not finished with us. Continue to shape us in the image of Christ, as we confess our sins in silence in his name…
Silent Prayer
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
Most Merciful God, we join our voices in this prayer of confession because we realize that we are united with each other in our sinfulness. We all sin in ways that are unique to us as individuals. We say and do things that go against Your will for our lives. Forgive us for thinking we are better than others. Forgive us for considering others’ sins worse than our own. Forgive us for being so quick to recognize the sin in others, yet slow to see it in ourselves. Grant us the humility of spirit and the gladness of heart that comes from knowing that Jesus died to take away the sins of the world. Touch our lives with Your healing grace and create in us clean hearts. We pray these things in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Heavenly Father, we come before Your throne of grace to confess our sin. We have been selfish instead of generous; we have been proud instead of humble; we have held grudges instead of forgiving; we have proven over and over again that we cannot be good enough on our own. We need more of You, and less of ourselves. Gracious God, we ask for Your forgiveness and receive it with joyful hearts. Renew our minds so that we may discern what is good. Fill us with Your Spirit so that we may be Your witnesses in the world. Comfort our hearts, that we may know that we have complete redemption by Your grace alone. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Merciful God, we humble ourselves in your presence, confessing our unworthiness and our sinfulness in your sight. We have broken your holy law. We have not sought first your kingdom and righteousness. We have been anxious and troubled about many things, and have neglected the things that belong to our peace. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves, or done to others as we would that they should do to us.
Most Gracious God, our heavenly Father, who hast given your Son, Jesus Christ, to save your people from their sins; forgive us, we pray; cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and renew a right spirit within us; through the grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.
The Book of Common Order, Language Modernized by Stuart Strachan Jr.
Lord, we confess that we do not love you with our whole hearts
And we do not love our neighbour as ourselves.
We seek the blessing of others
Rather than the blessing of your grace
We seek comfort in wealth
Rather than a generosity which reflects Christ
We live as rulers of our own kingdoms
Rather than sons and daughters in yours
Have mercy on us
Humble us
And make us hungry again for life with you
Amen
Jacob Traeger
Psalm 142:5-7a
“I cry to you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name.’”
Too often my prison is self-made, with my pride, and ability to judge others. Forgive
me and give me a humble spirit.
Bud Thoreen
Call to Confession
James 5:16 invites us to confess our sins so that we might be healed. Let us go before our Creator in humility and confession.
Prayer of Confession
Lord Almighty, we come to you in humility today. We have sought security in the wrong places. Rather than having the courage to confront our own sins, we often settle for false gods. We seek control and power, money and possessions, comfort and complacency. Call us to action, O God. Help us to see the error of our ways and give us the courage to do something about it as we confess our sins to you.
Austin D. Hill
God of wisdom, we come before you in humility. Too often we choose our own way, discern our own path, without looking to you. We ignore the prompting of your Holy Spirit, and choose what is easiest, most comfortable, or requires the least from us. Please forgive us for our narrowmindedness. Soften our hearts of stone, that we might have, instead, hearts of flesh to perceive your call in our lives. Then please give us the courage to act on your calling.
Austin D. Hill
O God, who is rich in mercy,
We come before you humbled and in need of your grace. Many of us have been in the church for so long that we have forgotten how each day your mercies are new, your grace sustains us from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, and year to year. We become forgetful, and take your love for granted. We act as though we are your firstborn, deserving of every gift, without doing the hard work of repentance and obedience that characterize life in You. Restore in us a sense of wonder at the depth of your mercies, awe in the grace that you show us each day. And help us to live out of those truths, so that when people look at our lives-they might see love, humility, kindness and gratitude for everything you have given to us.
Amen.
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Lord of Hosts,
We come before you today in a tone of solemnity. We recognize that while it was Judas who betrayed you for 30 pieces of silver, that we often betray you as well. We know what is right, what is good for us. We know that we belong to you. Called to serve, we often serve ourselves. Called to humility, we puff ourselves up. Called to love, we choose to love only those who love us back. But in your Word you give us a different path to walk. A humble path where all are worthy of our love and respect. Forgive us Lord, where we have chosen to withhold rather than to offer. In your son Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Looking for More Liturgical Elements?
Check out our Calls to Worship on Humility.