Prayers of Confession on Rescue

Adapted from “The Precious Blood” in The Valley of Vision

Leader: Blessed Lord Jesus, before your cross I kneel and see the heinousness of my sin, my iniquity that caused you to be made a curse, the evil that provokes divine wrath.

All: Show me the enormity of my guilt by the crown of thorns, the pierced hands and feet, the bruised body, the dying cries. Your blood is the blood of incarnate God; its worth is infinite, and its value is beyond all thought.

Leader: Sin is my sickness, my monster, my foe, my enemy, born in my birth, alive in my life, strong in my character, intermingling with my every thought. Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light?

All: Yet your compassions reach over me, your heart rushes to my rescue, your love endured my curse, your mercy bore the stripes I deserved. Let me walk in humiliation, bathed in your blood with a tender conscious, triumphing gloriously as an heir of salvation.

Submitted by Dustin Ray

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

O God, you judge your people with righteousness; we judge our neighbors either right or wrong. Your Servant defended the cause of the poor; it is because of our greed that many still want. You bring deliverance to the needy, but we stand in the way of its being received. You send us a Savior who will crush the oppressor, but we raise up idols in his stead. Make us mindful of your dominion, how you rule while sun and moon endure. May we bow down before you and pay you the tribute that you are due.

James G. Kirk. When We Gather, Revised Edition: A Book of Prayers for Worship.

Eternal God,

in whom we live and move and have our being,

whose face is hidden from us by our sins,

and whose mercy we forget in the blindness of our hearts:

Cleanse us from all our offenses,

and deliver us from proud thoughts and vain desires,

that with reverent and humble hearts

we may 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.

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