Prayers of Confession on the Prodigal Son
Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
Have mercy on me and hear me.
I am now not worthy to be called your son,
Come to my aid, O God.
Make me like one of your hired servants,
Forgive me and spare my sins.
Because I greatly hunger for you,
Wipe out the wickedness of my sin.
Show favor to me, Lord, a sinner
Snatch my soul from the hand of hell.
Remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Raise me up from the filth of sin,
And do not remove your Holy Spirit from me
Nor in your anger rebuke me.
To you I flee, most holy Father,
And have no refuge but you.
Sons are accustomed to flee to their fathers,
…Place me beside you, Lord God of powers,
Since I know my sin.
Lord God, the power of my salvation,
Do not utterly abandon me.
Amen.
Modernized by Stuart Strachan Jr., Taken from “The Prayers of Moucan”, in Celtic Spirituality (Series: Classics of Western Spiritiuality) Trans., Oliver Davies, Paulist Press, 2000.
Now the careful words of repentance
Must be said for me.
He from whom I hope for the robe of immortality
And the ring of immortality
And the ring of dignity,
Who for my arrival slays
The fattened calf from the herd,
Whose blood restored
The structure of the whole world,
And whose blood in the figure of a lamb
Sprinkled and painted on thresholds,
By whom the hand of Didymus (Thomas) is pressed in
And the house of Rahab the harlot is saved.
Modernized by Stuart Strachan Jr., Taken from “The Prayers of Moucan”, in Celtic Spirituality (Series: Classics of Western Spiritiuality) Trans., Oliver Davies, Paulist Press, 2000.
(With Assurance of Pardon) Jesus explains in the parable of the Prodigal Son that the Father comes running to the son when he returns. God eagerly awaits our repentance and celebrates when we return to him. Therefore let us come before the Lord, confessing our sins.
Heavenly Father, forgive us for when we don’t invest in others as we should. You have plans to use each one of us, but we don’t always let you work through us. Please give us a clear calling for how you want to use us as we silently confess our sins to You now…
God and the angels in heaven celebrated at the return of a prodigal. Friends, believe the good news: Through Christ Jesus, our sins are forgiven and our relationship with God is restored. Hallelujah! Amen
Austin D. Hill
The prodigal said, “I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your child.’ ” Let us, like the prodigal, come to our divine Parent, and seek forgiveness for our sin. Let us pray:
Most merciful God, we bow before you and confess that like foolish children we have rebelled against you and our own true home. We have wandered far away, seeking gratification for our desires. We have wasted your good gifts in self-indulgent living. We have sought sustenance amidst alien places. Forgive us: cleanse us, that by your forgiving love we are able to find the way back to our true home. Amen.
Taken from John E. Skoglund and Nancy E. Hall, A New Manual of Worship: New Edition, Judson Press, 1993.