Here’s a prayer of confession written by Evelyn Underhill, the 20th century British theologian and writer.
Prayer of Confession
God, penetrate those murky corners where we hide memories,
and tendencies on which we do not care to look,
but which we will not yield freely to you,
that you might purify and transmute them.
The persistent buried grudge,
the half-acknowledged enmity which is still smouldering;
the bitterness of that loss we have not turned into sacrifice,
the private comfort we cling to,
the secret fear of failure which saps our initiative and is really inverted pride;
the pessimism which is an insult to your joy.
Lord, we bring all these to you,
and we review them with shame and penitence
in your steadfast light.
Through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen!
— written by Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)
