Prayer: Lord, we have denied You

Here’s a beautiful prayer of confession from Patmos Abbey. 

Prayer of Confession
(based on John 18:15-18, 25-27; 19:1-3)

“Will you lay down your life for me?
Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows,
you will have denied me three times.” John 13:38

Lord we have denied you,
Each time we refused to see you in the faces of the hungry and the homeless.
May the old in us pass away and all things become new.

Lord we have betrayed you,
Each time we have kept our distance
from the anguish of the oppressed and the persecuted.
May the old in us pass away and all things become new.

Lord we have mocked you,
Each time we have pretended we do not know how radically you call us to live.
May the old in us pass away and all things become new.

Lord we are lost and have strayed,
Welcome us into your forgiving arms and make us new.
May the old in us pass away and all things become new.

All merciful One, God of infinite love and compassion, though we have strayed, you have never abandoned us.  In this season of repentance we come confessing our sins and reaching out for the healing power of your forgiveness.  Through Christ our Lord, give us renewed and truthful hearts that will follow you in all of our ways.


— from the website of Patmos Abbey—The Order of Saint Columba. Posted on the Canadian Foodgrains Bank “Weekly Prayer” page. 

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