Prayers of Confession on Wisdom

Adapted from Proverbs 15:1-16

Pastor: O wise and wonderful God, in our quick temper and selfish pride, we have not followed your example—you are slow to anger, abounding in love, and show steadfast faithfulness to your children.

All: We have been foolish in so many ways—in our speech, in our labors, in our thinking, and in our hearts. We have spoken perversely, and we have neglected wise speech.

Pastor: Daily we have walked in wickedness, feeding our hearts and minds with spiritual pollutants—explicit content, deceitful desires, and selfish gain. Our hearts are open before you, and you see and hate every sinful inclination.

All: Remove these sinful passions and weaknesses; make us strong by the power of your Holy Spirit through forgiveness in Jesus, for “better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.”

Submitted by Dustin Ray

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Wise and all-knowing God, we confess our knowledge is limited. We don’t know what’s best. We don’t know how to control ourselves.
 We don’t know how to forgive.
 We don’t know how to love.
 And we don’t know how to faithfully follow You when there is a cost. Forgive our pride and our foolishness. Restore and redeem us. Give us a thirst for all that You are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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(Prayer of Adoration)

Lord of yesterday, today and tomorrow: 

You alone rule the universe;  

setting times and seasons according to Your will. 

While nations and king come and go,  

You, only, are King of kings and Lord of lords;  

immortal and all-knowing,  

never lacking power and wisdom. 

You are strong; and you are good!  

Therefore, we joyously and reverently call you God and King. 

(Prayer of Confession)

Yet, in spite of all we know of You –  

we are stubborn and rebellious still. 

We think ourselves wise – disregarding Your truth. 

We think ourselves strong – using violence to force our will. 

We think ourselves right –writing-off others and refusing to  

learn from them. 

We think ourselves good – ignoring our corruption and evil; 

pointing fingers and wagging tongues at others.  

Forgive our arrogance minds, self-centeredness hearts  

and ungracious spirits. 

Take away our hearts of stone; 

replace them with hearts of flesh, 

hearts that best after Your own heart. 

In silent moments, hear us confess what we’re too ashamed to name aloud – forgive and free us, Lord:  (Silence) 

 Richard Herman

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Lord Jesus Christ, you reveal God to us, yet we are sometimes repulsed, bored, or exhausted by what we see. We become jaded to your work in the world, and our eyes glaze over rather than getting excited by your revelations.  You manifest yourselves to us through the scriptures, in quiet prayers, and in wise counsel. Yet we are slow to listen, and we ignore these epiphanies.  We need your Spirit’s strength to open our eyes and soften our hearts. Forgive us these and all our sins, as we continue to confess in silence…

Silient Prayer.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Submitted by Chip Hardwick

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Heavenly Father, you have claimed us as your own children. That claim last through our entire lives and even beyond. Like children, though, we don’t always listen to you. We think we know what’s best for ourselves. Lord, please help us to believe in you, to trust your plans as we silently confess our sins to you now…

Submitted by Austin D. Hill

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How great and glorious You are, O God. There is no one like You. You transform our weakness into strength. You forgive our stubbornness and arrogance, and fill us with Your generous wisdom. You turn our errors into stepping stones and our defeats into victories. You create beauty out of the ashes of our sinful nature. Forgive us, Lord, for being silent about Your goodness and for trusting the foolish wisdom of this world. Help us not to give up or give in to the temptations around us and to keep our eyes focused on Your loving grace. In Christ’s Name we pray. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Holy God, we realize that You know us more intimately than we know ourselves. We come before You now asking You to show us our sin, to make us aware of our failings, to open our eyes to our brokenness. We are wandering sheep that have gone our own way. We need Your wisdom and guidance to show us the path of truth and life, for we are lost without Your grace. Search us, O God, and know our hearts. Test us and know our troubled thoughts. Give us true repentance that only comes from You. Do Your transforming work in us so that we can live as Your redeemed people in the world. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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O Holy One, we call to you and name you as eternal, ever-present, and boundless in love. Yet there are times, O God, when we fail to recognize you in the dailyness of our lives. Sometimes shame clenches tightly around our hearts, and we hide our true feelings. Sometimes fear makes us small, and we miss the chance to speak from our strength. Sometimes doubt invades our hopefulness, and we degrade our own wisdom.

Holy God, in the daily round from sunrise to sunset, remind us again of your holy presence hovering near us and in us. Free us from shame and self-doubt. Help us to see you in the moment-by-moment possibilities to live honestly, to act courageously, and to speak from our wisdom.

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Inspired by Proverbs 6

Father in Heaven, wisdom has called us to heed her voice. She has implored the simple to turn towards her truth, for the one who lacks sense to eat from her table. We have heard wisdom’s clarion cry, but rejected her offer. By such action we have blocked You out, the very God in whom dwells all wisdom and truth. We have chosen our own foolishness to guide us down a path that leads to death and destruction. We repent of this decision and plead for your mercy, O God. May you reorient us onto the path of righteousness, wisdom, and truth. Forgive us, we pray. Have mercy on our souls and redeem us from the pit in which we have landed. Amen.

Scott Bullock

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Dear Lord,