Here’s a beautiful prayer of confession and commitment based on Isaiah 35. It comes from the worship archives of Grace, which meets at St. Mary’s Church in London, England.
God of Broken People and Broken Places
(far i have come, far i must go)
God of broken people and broken places
We confess to you our love of comfort,
of the known and predictable,
of the safe and secure.
We recognise that you call us into liminal space
To leave what we know
We confess to you our love of comfort,
of the known and predictable,
of the safe and secure.
We recognise that you call us into liminal space
To leave what we know
and venture with you into desert and wilderness,
into blindness and discomfort
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know
Help us to trust you, and to set out.
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know
Help us to trust you, and to set out.
On the journey of faith,
Far I have come, far I must go
Far I have come, far I must go
God of broken people and broken places
We thank you for all that Grace has been to us and to many others
We thank you for the space to listen, to grow,
We thank you for all that Grace has been to us and to many others
We thank you for the space to listen, to grow,
to create, to be challenged
We recognise that you are calling us on
To leave what we know and venture with you into new things,
We recognise that you are calling us on
To leave what we know and venture with you into new things,
into engagement and participation, into creativity and risk,
into new structures and opportunities
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know
and we’re not sure where we’re going
Help us to trust you, and to set out.
Help us to trust you, and to set out.
On the journey of faith,
Far we have come, far we must go.
Far we have come, far we must go.
God of rebuilt people and rebuilt places
You have plans for deserts and wilderness
‘Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
The thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
Grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.’
You have plans for deserts and wilderness
‘Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
The thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
Grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.’
God of transformation we look forward to what you will do
With our lives and with Grace
With our lives and with Grace
On the journey of faith,
Far we have come, far we must go.
Far we have come, far we must go.
