Prayers of Confession on Righteousness
Adapted from “A Cry for Deliverance” in The Valley of Vision
Pastor: Heavenly Father, save me from sin! I know I am righteous only through Jesus’ righteousness, but I greatly desire to be more like him! I am your child, so help me to resist the temptation to sin.
All: Deliver me from my temptations to sin. Make me to walk as Jesus walked, to live in the newness of his life, the life of love, the life of faith, the life of holiness.
Pastor: Forgive and kill these temptations, have mercy on my unbelief, on my corrupt and wandering heart. Cleanse my spiritual adultery and give me chastity; close my heart to all but you.
All: Help me to be always devoted, confident, obedient, resigned, childlike in trusting you. Fill me with grace daily so that I may praise you among the nations and my neighbors.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
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.
Holy and righteous God, humbly we come to You asking for Your forgiveness. Too often, we find ourselves chasing after frivolous things, worrying about tomorrow, and acting as if the promises within Your Word aren’t true. We place our trust in what we can touch and see, even though we know those things will not last. Give us faith and courage to put our hope and trust in You. You alone are God, and You provide us with everything we could ever need. Be glorified in our lives, we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Heavenly Father, we come to you acknowledging our own unrighteousness. We know that we fall short of your glory and your desires for us. Still, we know that you love us with the love you have shown in Jesus. Thank you for allowing Jesus’s faithfulness and sacrifice to atone for our sins. We pray these things in his name, and we ask that you hear our prayers as we continue our confession in silence…
Submitted by Allen Thompson
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.
Eternal and Glorious God, You are merciful, kind, and forgiving. You hear us when we confess to You. We admit we do not focus on You with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. A day devoted to You is rarely attempted. We neglect to rest our hearts and minds in You, for we keep going in our power and never stop. We do not attend to Your Word, for we live by the words and idols of our age. We fail to worship with Your people, for we give priority to many other commitments. Forgive our sin, and help us to walk in Your ways to the honor of Your name. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Gracious Lord, our efforts at being faithful seem to produce mixed results. Sometimes we do what is right and the result is pain and suffering. Other times we turn our back on what is right and things seem to go just fine. Faithful living is confusing to us. Forgive us when we are faithful just to gain an advantage. Forgive us when we reject faithful living because we can’t see any advantage. Have mercy on us, we pray, and help us to love You so deeply that the only desire of our heart is to honor You with our lives, no matter what the outcome. We ask it in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Righteous God, we receive your grace and forget your justice. You teach us to move with compassion yet we have remained complacent. God, forgive us for our complacency and our apathy. Fuel us with your truth, your hope, and your joy to stand for your justice, your righteousness, and your love in this world.
Submitted by Laura Murray
Adapted from “Continual Repentance” in The Valley of Vision
Pastor: O God of grace, you have taken my sin and put it on Jesus’ head, and you’ve taken his righteousness and put it on mine. You’ve made me holy and blameless in your sight; therefore, you delight in me.
All: But in my Christian walk, on my best days, I still sin. I am greedy. I am selfish. I am lustful. I am slothful. I love my sinful delights more than I love you or love my neighbor.
Pastor: I sin like this more frequently that I care to admit, but I tell you, Heavenly Father, because Jesus has died for me and because you can empower me to walk in obedience.
All: Grant that I never lose sight of the ugliness of sin, the glory of Christ, the beauty of holiness, or the wonder of grace. Help me to seek you every morning with heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
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.
Father, thank You that we have been declared righteous through faith in Christ. Because of the completed work of Jesus, we have peace with You and access to Your amazing grace. Yet, in spite of this, we take our eyes off of You. At times, we are prone to despair. Forgive us, Lord. Help us to remember that Jesus is our strength. Help us to mature and rejoice in Him even in our trials and tribulations. Give us grace that will produce a patient and godly character that is honoring to You. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Holy God, Your love is amazing, steady, and unchanging. Your love is relentless, passionate, and astounding. We thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus which has redeemed us and restored us to a right relationship with You. We confess that we take this gift for granted; we fail to grasp the significance of the sacrifice; we continue to live as unredeemed people. Forgive us for our sinfulness. Cleanse us. Restore us. And ignite our hearts with a passion to live for You. We humbly ask, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
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
Heavenly Father, Although we surrender our lives to you individually, we are called to live and serve in community as one body. Nevertheless, we do not see each other equally or accurately. We tend to think that some are more gifted, more attractive, even more godly than others. Rather than claim Christ’s righteousness for all who believe, we judge one another, even ourselves, on worldly merit. Forgive us, Lord. Redeem us from our wrong thinking. Open our eyes to the truth of your perfect plan for your church body to work graciously as one. We pray this humbly in Christ’s name. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Adapted from Romans 3:10-18
Father, we speak the truth about who we are apart from you. Paul summarizes our condition in Romans 3 using the truth found in the sacred writings of the Psalter and Prophets,
There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes
We confess that though we are repulsed by the gravity of these words, that they are a truthful statement of the depravity of our hearts and express the darkness of our souls in the light of your goodness. May you cleanse us, forgive us, and restore the inner person within us to more accurately reflect your image. Amen.
Scott Bullock\
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