Month: December 2020

Forgive My Unbelief (A Prayer of Confession)

CONFESSION

James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Let’s seek the grace of God together as we confess our sins.

Father,

It’s a great comfort to us that you already know our sin even before we confess it. It’s a comfort because it allows us to be honest with you, knowing we can’t conceal anything from your sight. Nonetheless, when we consider how kind you have been to us, our sin grieves us and so we confess it to you now.

Father, forgive us when we doubt your love and care for us. We know that you will never leave us or forsake us, yet we have doubted your commitment to us.

We know that you are near to the brokenhearted, yet in times of our own stress and anxiety we have questioned your nearness to us.

We have made the mistake of believing you are close to us, only when our lives are going as we planned. And we have thought every hardship a result of your anger against us.

Father, you Word says that it is us who have abandoned you, and therefore to question your faithfulness is a great sin. So, we humble ourselves before you that we might find grace.

And, Father, we know that if we say “amen” to this prayer yet regard sin in our hearts this prayer will have no effect. So, we confess our individual sins to you know in silence. Hear our prayer.

Father, thank you that your kindness is steadfast. Thank you that you have anchored our soul in Christ. Thank you that he took the abandonment that we deserved because of our sin, so that we could be brought in to your everlasting love. Thank you that nothing can separate us from the love of God—neither height nor depth. Not even our doubt. If we are in Christ, we are a new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen! 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON – Psalm 32:1-2

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

The God Who Came Down (A Prayer of Praise)

Father,

We praise you because you are the God who comes down to be with your people.

You came down to walk with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. You are the God who came down to dwell with Noah and his family in the Ark. When your people cried out in their bondage in Egypt, you heard your people and came down to save them by sending Moses as a deliverer. And you did the same with Joshua and the Judges. Father, we praise you that you sent your people prophets to call them back to faithfulness.

And in the fullness of time, you sent your only begotten Son. Thank you that Jesus Christ made his dwelling with us.  And Father, when you raised Christ from the grave after he died in our place, we praise you that he sent the Spirit who will never depart from us.

Throughout all of human history we see that you are near to your people. You have never abandoned them, and we know you will never abandon us.

So, we have come today because we want to dwell with you. We want to abide in Christ. We want to renew ourselves in faith and obedience to your covenant with us.

So, we worship you, Father, through Christ the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit; one God, in three persons. 

And Amen.