Prayers of Confession on Work
Almighty God, from the very beginning, You have designed us for glorious work. You have given us Your Spirit and spread before us limitless resources. Because You have made us a royal priesthood, we now find ourselves perfectly matched to meet the needs of the world. Sadly, we confess that we fall into bad habits. We are often lazy and self-centered. We grumble and complain. We lie and cheat. We tear one another down. We deceive and seek our own glory rather than the glory that comes from You alone. Forgive us, we pray, dear God. Help us to work in the world in a way that glorifies You in all that we do. Restore us to our true identity as Your ambassadors. All of this we ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
King Jesus, We confess that we are quick to put our hope in places other than You. We are often more driven by our fears than by our faith in You and Your Kingdom. We place our trust in health, jobs, money, and perceived safety rather than in You. Forgive us for seeking power when we should be modeling the gentle humility of Jesus. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Gracious God, we believe our hard work should get us comfort, conveniences, and control. We rely on our abilities to create a life independent from you. Father, forgive us, because we need you more than anything in this world. Let us be poor in spirit that we might receive the kingdom of heaven.
Submitted by Laura Murray
O God, you are indeed worthy of our praise and worship. Yet we turn away and worship other gods. We find ourselves at the altar of our careers, our financial security, our self-image, our status. We take you for granted. You call us to live for the praise of Christ’s glory, but we often seek praise for ourselves instead. Forgive us for these and all of our sins, as we continue to confess in silence…
Silent Prayer
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
Gracious God, thank you for the gift of work. There are times when we experience work along the lines of your intentions, when work is fulfilling and fruitful. For these moments we thank you.
Yet, we all know the other side of work, the side corrupted by sin. We know how work can be frustrating and empty, even debilitating and dehumanizing. Though we may not feel the literal sting of thorns and thistles, our work has been stained by sin.
We thank you for redeeming us through Christ, and for beginning to redeem all things, including our work. As we give ourselves to you more fully, may we experience work as you intended, devoting our strengths to that which honors you and makes a real difference in the world. Amen.
Dear Lord, You are the King of the world, the Creator of all things, and the Giver of life. You have made us in Your image and invited us to be Your children—the heirs of Your kingdom—and we give You our thanks and praise. We stop now to confess that we have sinned and fallen short of what You would have us be. We have found our identity in earthly things like work, money, family, reputation, our homes, our friends, even our country.
We have worshiped them more than You. We have turned away from being part of Your Kingdom work to satisfy our own agendas. We have broken Your heart with our sin, and we are sorry. Please forgive us. Help us open our hearts to receive the gift of forgiveness that You offer through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Create in us clean hearts and fill us with Your presence. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
Gracious and Heavenly Father,
In your word, you call us to be comforted first and foremost by You.
But often, if we are honest, we look for comfort in different places.
We look for comfort in our busyness, in our work, in a glass of wine.
But we know, deep down, that true comfort comes from you. Help us to turn first to you in our deepest need. And may we find your powerful, peaceful presence in that place.
Amen.
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Gracious God, in six days you created all things. On the seventh day you finished your work by resting. You also blessed and hallowed the seventh day, setting it aside as a day of rest. Teach me, Lord, what this means for me. May my life not primarily be formed by the demands of my work, the expectations of my culture, or the urgings of my feelings. Rather, may my life be formed by you, by your example, by your truth. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Amen.
Prayer of Confession for Labor Day
Lord of the Sabbath
Prince of Peace
Lead us away from our work for rest
Our world is so fast
So noisy
So full
Help us stop and rest with you
Our world is so pressured
Work, work, work
Buy, buy, buy
More, more, more
Reveal the fears that drive us
The pride and shame disguised as sacrifice and hustle
Free us to trust and follow you in the doing and in the ceasing
The congregation is invited to offer their own prayers
We trust your promise to renew a right spirit within
We trust your presence and providing
We trust your blessing of Sabbath rest
Breathe in… Breathe out… in the name of the Father
Breathe in… Breathe out… in the name of the Son
Breathe in… Breathe out… in the name of the Spirit
Amen
Prayer of Confession for Labor Day © 2023 by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
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