Frosty winter morning (Photo: Irene Bom)
Prayer of Confession
God, penetrate those murky corners where we hide memories,
and tendencies on which we do not care to look,
but which we will not yield freely to you,
that you might purify and transmute them.
The persistent buried grudge,
the half-acknowledged enmity which is still smouldering;
the bitterness of that loss we have not turned into sacrifice,
the private comfort we cling to,
the secret fear of failure which saps our initiative
and is really inverted pride;
the pessimism which is an insult to your joy.
Lord, we bring all these to you,
and we review them with shame and penitence
in your steadfast light.
Through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen!
written by Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), posted on re:worship
More Evelyn Underhill
- Todd E. Johnson’s article on Evelyn’s life and spirituality
- The Evelyn Underhill Association website
- Evelyn Underhill’s Prayer Book, edited by Robyn Wrigley-Carr
EXTRA EXTRA
Prayer poem for Lent 1B : Not unless
I wrote this prayer poem last Saturday during an online creative retreat hosted by United Adoration. It is inspired by the psalm set for the first Sunday in Lent, Year B: Psalm 25:1-10.
Invitation
I will try and write a prayer poem each week as part of my Lenten practice this year and include a link in the blog post. Let me know it you would like to join me and write prayer poems too. Writing prayer poems in community is such a treat.
More on writing prayer poems