Prayers of Confession on Temptation
Prayer of Confession based on the Parable of the Sower
As we gather on your good earth,
before the bounty of your Word and Table,
and the majesty of your holy presence,
We remember and repent
Forgive us, Abiding One,
We keep you at a distance
We defy your bidding
We make it harder for people to know you
Forgive us, Saving One,
We deny our weakness
We wallow in our weakness
We take advantage of the weakness of others
Forgive us, Holy One,
We refuse your counsel
We waste your gifts
We withhold your compassion from others
Break through
Break through our hardened views,
lest the evil one win the day
Break through our gravelly hearts
lest we have no root and wither to nothing
Break through our thorny ways
lest our agendas and fears
choke the promise of your word
and smother a harvest worthy of your Name
Silent Confession
Prayer of Confession based on the Parable of the Sower © 2021 by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Merciful God, we remember that Your Son was tempted in the desert as we are, and yet He won the victory over sin. And now, because of His victory, we have hope that we too can be victorious over the temptations we face in life. There are times when we feel weak, and we do things that we should not have done, and there are times when we leave undone many things we should have done. We have failed to love You with our whole heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We try to make excuses for our actions, but there is no excuse for giving in to temptation.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
O Lord, my every sense, member, faculty, affection, is a snare to me.
I can scarce open my eyes but I envy those above me,
or despise those below.
I covet the honor and riches of the mighty,
and am proud and unmerciful to the rags of others.
If I behold beauty it is a bait to lust,
or see deformity, it stirs up loathing and disdain;
How soon do slanders, vain jests, and wanton speeches creep into my heart!
Valley of the Vision
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
Lord and God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have only begun to comprehend the wonder of the Incarnation, that you in Christ would become one of us, that you in Christ would live among us and be tempted like we are, that you in Christ would go to the cross for us, and that you in Christ would rise to new life in the conquest of death and the victory of a new life. Forgive us because we have only begun to understand this mystery. Launch us anew upon the way that will lead us to a deeper understanding of this truth, and that will make us lovers of God and lovers of neighbor in dimensions of grace that we have not even imagined. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hassell Bullock
Almighty God, we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance. We each have our hopes and expectations for what lies ahead, but only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we need. In life’s uncertainties, assure us of Your unchanging love. In disappointing moments, help us turn to You for stability. In temptation, give us courage to humbly place our hands into Yours. In daily preoccupations, open our eyes to the sorrows of our hurting world that we might respond with compassion. By your grace, equip us to keep You as the center of our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
O God, whose blessed Son did fast forty days and nights in preparation for his holy mission; beget in us, we beseech thee, the same desire which was in him to learn and do thy will. Forbid that through indulgence of the flesh we should dim our vision of thee and render ourselves unfit for thy service.
Give us grace to master our bodies and bring them into subjection to thy good purpose for us. Teach us by prayer and fasting to win self-control, that we may count ourselves wholly to thee and enter more and more into thy blessed kingdom through him who for our sake consecrated himself, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ernest Fremont Tittle, A Book of Pastoral Prayers, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1951.
Lord God, you have claimed us. You have given us the perfect example of faithfulness in the face of temptation, but we fall so short of the example you have given us in Jesus. We continually try to grow in our abilities to follow you, but we continually fall short. Lord remind us of our need for you as we come to you in silent confession.
Time of silent reflection.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Forgive us for our many sins. Like Eve, we are easily captivated by the objects that our eyes desire. We fall so often, and when we do, we run and hide in shame instead of running to you to confess our sin and find joy and forgiveness in the cross. You have given us your most cherished treasure, yet we prize many other things more highly than Christ. Forgive us for trusting in our own strength more than in his power to save us completely. We live each day with hearts full of our own desires, minds full of our own agendas and plans for our own self-promotion. Forgive us, Lord.
Jesus, you are our strong salvation. Thank you for invading our world to rescue us from ourselves. We cannot fathom the humility, love, and commitment to your Father’s glory, which led you to give up heaven for us. When the Holy Spirit took you into the desert to be tempted by Satan, you kept your eyes fixed firmly on your Father, your soul devoted to serving him in perfect obedience, and your mind saturated with Scripture. You gave up your own glory to be stripped, humiliated, and shattered in death, so that you could serve us and be our substitute.
The joy of your life was fixed firmly upon the will of God, and now we find the joy of our lives to be your obedience for us and your death in our place. How can we ever thank you adequately? Holy Spirit, fill us with everlasting wonder that the gospel is true. You kept your promise to send a Savior; help us to stop trying to rescue others and ourselves.
When we are tempted to sin as Eve did, remind us of Christ, who kept all your laws for us, and fix our eyes on him. Whether we give in to temptation or resist, show us Christ, our only hope for the perfect obedience that we require to stand before you. Give us the kind of heart that serves you with peaceful abandon, unconcerned about our own welfare and reputation, submissive and quiet before you. Cause us to cherish Christ above all our other desires, so that we will be satisfied in him for all eternity. In his name we pray, amen.
Barbara Duguid, Prone to Wander: Prayers of Confession and Celebration, P&R Publishing.
Merciful God, we remember that Your Son was tempted in the desert as we are, and yet He won the victory over sin. And now, because of His victory, we have hope that we too can be victorious over the temptations we face in life. There are times when we feel weak, and we do things that we should not have done, and there are times when we leave undone many things we should have done. We have failed to love You with our whole heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We try to make excuses for our actions, but there is no excuse for giving in to temptation. Lord, grant us the strength and courage we need to overcome our weaknesses so that one day we can stand before You and hear You say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” We ask these things in the Name of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
(Prayer of Adoration)
Great God our Father: You are good and You are strong.
You are faithful and true,
and You won’t tempt or lie to us.
In a world that appeals to our sinful cravings
and dominated by spin:
You alone are worthy of our trust, loyalty and love.
You alone have loved us with such an everlasting love
as to give Your Son or us.
You alone never abandon us, living with and within us
by Your Holy Spirit.
(Prayer of Confession)
Yet, we so easily trade Your truth for a lie,
and substitute our lusts for Your love.
We blame others for our errors and for our wanton sin.
We close our eyes to the truth about who we are
and run from the truth of who You are.
Forgive us for choosing to love and live for the world:
by following our own cravings,
giving into the lust of our eyes, and
boasting of who we are,
what we’ve done and what we’ve got.
Hear us as we say,
in whispers too soft for any one else to hear but You,
the sin we’re too ashamed to let anyone else know
but You who know all about us and love us anyway.
Hear our silent confessions of sin: (PAUSE)
Save us, Glorious Christ, from every false understanding and motivation
Save us from the temptation to just stay on the mountain
Save us from the temptation to never engage
Save us from the temptation of trying to capture and control your power and glory
You are Mystery, You are Holy, You are God
Hear our confession as we bow in wonder and worship
Time of silent confession
Prayer of Confession for Transfiguration Sunday © 2021 by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Looking for More Liturgical Elements?
Check out our Calls to Worship on Temptation.