Here’s a thoughtful prayer of confession inspired by 1 Samuel 3: 1-20 and John 1: 43-51, two of the suggested scripture readings for the second Sunday after Epiphany (January 15, 2012). It was written by Moira Laidlaw on her wonderful website, Liturgies Online.
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, on Liturgies Online.
For more worship resources for the Epiphany season, click on Epiphany or Epiphany 1 B, 2 B, etc. in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
For other prayers of confession/words of assurance, see the Index at the upper right.
