Here’s a thoughtful prayer of confession for the first Sunday of Lent, Year B (February 26, 2012). It was written by Bruce Prewer.
Prayer of Confession
(based on Mark 1:9-15)
Jesus says:
“The time is ready, the kingdom of God is at hand,
repent and believe the Gospel.”
O come, let us return unto our God,
Who will have mercy and abundantly pardon.
Let us pray.
Most holy God,
we admit to you and each other
that we are so dazzled by the false gods of this age,
that we find it hard to recognise who we are,
where we came from, or where we are going.
We easily become caught up in selfishness,
seduced by cynicism,
waylaid by glittering consumerism,
and led by the nose along the highways and byways
created by powerful, vested interests.
Please open our eyes that we may see ourselves more clearly,
and seek you more diligently.
Most loving God,
arrest the false god’s that have diverted us,
show us the deceits that have blurred our vision,
unmask the poverty of our goals and longings,
expose the cheap values that parade as virtues,
save us from permitting a rift between Christ and us,
and deliver is from cheap guilt and trivial remorse.
Please bring us
to an honest repentance, the forgiveness of sins,
and the renewal of our faith and love.
Through Christ Jesus our Saviour, Amen!
Words of Assurance
Fellow travellers on the road to Easter,
always remember that there is much more forgiveness in God
than we could ever exhaust.
Receive from God, through the grace of Christ,
the blessing of sins forgiven and a right relationship restored.
— written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage. http://www.bruceprewer.com/
For more worship resources for February 26, 2012 (the first Sunday of Lent), click on Lent 1 B in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page. For more prayers of confession/words of assurance on this blog, click on Confession or Words of assurance in the list of “Labels” at the lower right, or see the scriptural Confession Index at the upper right.
