Category: confession

Trees of healing


 

I saw a tree that was growing on each side of the river. It is the tree that gives people true life. It has 12 different kinds of fruit, a new fruit every month. The tree’s leaves are like medicine. They make people of every nation well again.

A prayer for wholeness

We grieve and confess
that we hurt and have been hurt,
to the third and fourth generations,
that we are so afraid of pain
that we shield ourselves from being vulnerable to others,
and refuse to be open and trusting as a child …

O God of Wholeness, we rest in you …
You listen with us to the sound of running water,
you sit with us under the shade of the trees of our healing,
you walk once more with us in the garden in the cool of the day,
the oil of your anointing penetrates the cells of our being,
the warmth of your hands steadies us and gives us courage.
O God of Wholeness, we rest in you …

 
by Jim Cotter
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #349

From the blog
Settle yourself into the quiet
In the school of prayer with Terry Hinks
Theme: He heals the brokenhearted  [prayer sheet]
 

Slow us down

Prayer of Confession

O God, we long to rest in you,
      to trust in your goodness,
      in your care for us,
      in your abundant life.
But we don’t know how to rest
      and we have forgotten how to trust:
We seek material goods that we don’t really need.
We befriend people not always out of love.
We ask questions of you like the Sadducees did of Jesus,
      questions that try only to prove our point,
      not to grow in understanding of your desires for us.
Slow us down, Holy One.
Attend to us, Holy One,
      and show us that you are our salvation and our resting place.

 
~ by Rev. Catherine Rolling,  posted on re:worship

From the blog
In quietness and trust is your strength
Broken spirit sacrifice
3 Ancient prayers
 

One body, different gifts

 

We have different gifts,
        according to the grace given to each of us.

If your gift is prophesying,
        then prophesy in accordance with your faith;
if it is serving,
        then serve;
if it is teaching,
        then teach;
if it is to encourage,
        then give encouragement;
if it is giving,
        then give generously;
if it is to lead,
        do it diligently;
if it is to show mercy,
        do it cheerfully.

 

Prayer of Confession

God you have given each of us many gifts,
but sometimes we cannot recognize
what gift we have to share,
so we hide it under a bushel.

God you remind us that all gifts are needed,
but sometimes we let ourselves be convinced
that some gifts are more special than others.

God you call us to work, to live, to love together as parts of one body,
but sometimes we decide that membership in the body
is limited by our understandings.

God, for the times we have ignored or mislabeled Your gifts,
for those times we have cut another off from the body,
We offer words of repentance,
we ask for forgiveness and grace.

… time of silent prayer …

Words of Assurance/Forgiveness

God is the giver of MANY gifts.
God is the Creator of the ONE body.
God is slow to anger and quick to forgive.
God helps us to share and honour the gifts of all,
God helps us to heal the wounds and reunite the body.
We are forgiven, loved, and accepted.
Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Amen

 
~ by Rev Gord, posted on re:worship
 

From the blog
Open the door, open the window
We are a body
Circle me, Lord
 

Planted together


 

Prayer of Confession

(based on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)

Merciful God, you plant each of us like seeds in the same field and together we are nourished and nurtured by the sun. We sway in the wind and are refreshed by the rain. We are blessed by the knowledge that you want us to grow towards what you call us to be.

When we deprive others of that same opportunity,
forgive us.

When we want to uproot those whom we believe
do not belong in our part of the field,
forgive us.

When we label others as good or bad
rather than accept them for who they are,
forgive us.

When we are reluctant to acknowledge
that we ourselves are a mixture of weeds and wheat,
forgive us.

When we are afraid to look into the fields of our own lives
to see what is growing there,
forgive us.

O God, you know us inside and out, through and through.
You search us out and lay your hand upon us.
You know what we are going to say even before we speak.
So we pray that you will help us to reach out to the uprooted and rejected,
the lonely and the outcast,
and to develop and grow the good in ourselves, in others and in the world.
This we pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen

~ by Moira Laidlaw, posted on re:worship

From the blog
Pilgrims together
Soft eyes help
United by love
 

Open confession


 

Advent Confession

inspired by Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11

Holy God,
open our eyes to the presence of your Spirit
upon us, within us, among us.

For our apathy in the presence of oppression,
Forgive us.

If we have contributed to the brokenheartedness of anyone,
Forgive us.

For our participation in systems that enslave,
Forgive us.

When we are deaf to your good news,
Have mercy and open our ears.

When our mouths remain too tightly closed,
Loosen our lips with songs of praise.

Hear our prayer, O God, and forgive our sins.
Hold us in your mercy, now and forever. Amen.

 
~ author unknown, posted on re:worship

From the blog
Theme: God makes all things new  [prayer sheet]
3 Prayers for Advent
Hard of hearing
 

Asking One, ask us

A prayer of adoration and confession

inspired by Matthew 7:7-11, Luke 11:1-13

Seeking One,
you are the beginning and the end of our search.
Finding One,
you are the alpha and omega of all discovery.
Asking One,
you are the voice and the silence of our exploration.
Giving One,
you are the fullness and the emptiness of all yearning.
Persistent One,
you never abandon your search for us,
nor tire of our repetitive to-ings and fro-ings.
Receiving One,
you endlessly welcome us home,
and spread before us a feast
in the face of our constant requests for mere morsels of bread.

Search us, O God,
and find within us the secrets we hide.
Ask us, O God,
and receive from within us the pain we bear.
Keep knocking at the door of our lives
until we open our wills to your purpose,
our lives to your life, and our yearning to your hope.

When we forget to seek you and discover that we have lost our place:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

When we ask once and leave it at that:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

When we draw back from knocking, lest we disturb you:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Strengthen our courage; bolster our endurance;
spur us onward in your way in our world
through the power of the Holy Spirit
and the name of Christ.
Amen.

 
~ written by Anita Monro and posted on re:worship

From the blog
When hot and bothered
Good grief
In the school of prayer with the Celtic Saints
 

Make us a chalice

Collage by Irene Bom

 

Prayer of Confession

(inspired by Matthew 25:31-46)

God of the people,
you have called us to walk humbly before you
and to share in the struggle with the least of these,
yet we have failed to live up to this call.
Today, we come before you
asking your Spirit to empower us
to be agents of transformation for the world.
Make us a chalice from which all the oppressed
can find the living waters of God,
who calls us to live a life of service, of humility,
and of reconciliation with you, with creation,
and with the world. Amen.
 
~ posted on Many Voices. http://www.manyvoices.org

From the blog
Hot-hearted in serving thee
Making, making, making
Theme: Come to the waters  [prayer sheet]
 

Change from the inside out


 

Prayer of Confession

(based on Romans 12:1-8)

Merciful God,
we confess how easy it is for us to begin to adopt
the attitudes and actions of the world around us;
to let our lives be shaped by contemporary culture
rather than by Your call.

Lord, in Your mercy,
hear and forgive.

We confess how often we think of our own interests first—
more concerned with our own status and well-being
than with the well-being of others.

Lord, in Your mercy,
hear and forgive.

We confess that we have not always treated one another
as valued members of Your Body, the Church;
that we have allowed intolerance and resentment to tear us apart.

Lord, in Your mercy,
hear and forgive.

We confess that we do not always acknowledge You as Lord,
trusting in our own abilities and following our own goals
rather than submitting ourselves to Your will and Your call.

Lord, in Your mercy,
hear and forgive.

Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, transform us.
Change us from the inside out,
so that our words and our lives would bring honour and glory to You,
our Saviour and Lord.
Amen.
 
 
~ from re:worship
 

 
From the blog
We bring our stories
Full of air
Waters of baptism
 

Grow to maturity


 

… speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

 

Prayer of Confession

(inspired by Ephesians 4:1-16)

God of unity and love,
place within each of us
a spirit of hope and community.
Have mercy upon us
when we speak without love
or act without humility.
Cleanse us with the living water of your grace.
Create in us willing hearts
to live in patience and gentleness.
Raise us up to be your children,
growing toward maturity
in faith and love.
Strengthen this church,
that we may be a model
of ministry and unity
for all the world to see.
In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.

~ adapted from The Abingdon Worship Annual 2009. Posted on re:worship
 

Hard of hearing


(Photo: Irene Bom)

Prayer of Confession

(inspired by 1 Samuel 3, John 1: 43-51)

God of grace, in the days when your word was rarely heard and when visions were scarce, you broke into Samuel’s life and called his name … and he said “Here I am, speak, for your servant is listening.”

We confess that often so many voices clamour for our attention that your word is again hard to hear. Forgive us if you have called us to be prophetic witnesses or to use our gifts to serve you, and we have not heard, or have been unwilling to respond.

Lord Jesus Christ, you met Philip and Nathanael on the road and said “Follow me” – and they did … We confess that we do not expect to meet you on the familiar roads we travel and so we fail to discern your presence or your call on our lives.

Holy Spirit, you empower us to recognise and to respond to the invitation of Jesus to follow him, even when that means travelling on unknown and unfamiliar paths …

Merciful God, take from us all that hinders our hearing your voice and fill us anew with the Holy Spirit that we may joyfully respond to Jesus’ call on our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

Assurance of Forgiveness

(based on 1 Corinthians 6: 20)

The good news is that even if we at first do not hear the divine word addressed to us, God calls again and again. When our words and actions separate us from God, the Apostle Paul assures us that Jesus was prepared to pay the price to restore us to God. Paul writes: “You were bought with a price; therefore glorify God …” (1 Corinthians 6:20)
 
~ written by Moira Laidlaw, posted on re:worship
 

 
From the blog
Prayer poem: Not forsaken
God loves stories
Word study: Shema