Here’s a prayer of approach and confession inspired by Mark 4:35-41 (the account of when Jesus calmed the storm). It was written by the Very Rev. John Christie.
Prayer of Approach and Confession
(inspired by Mark 4:35-41)
Lord God of all Creation we come to you from our storm-tossed lives to seek your peace; we come to you with our questions and uncertainties, our worries and anxieties, we come to you from our joy and our happiness-- each emotion a kaleidoscope of our feeling in life’s changing patterns.
More than all of that we come to you because of what you have done for us in the love of Christ who bought our freedom by his sacrifice on the Cross and showed us new life in his resurrection life. We bless you for the love which has no dimension of length breadth or height, coming as it does from the perfection your being. We come to you knowing that sometimes we have received your grace in vain.
We have not relied on your word or wisdom, we have not shown any concern or compassion when we should have; we have not loved our neighbour as we love ourselves. We have remained silent when we should have spoken and spoken when we should have been silent.
We have not relied on your word or wisdom, we have not shown any concern or compassion when we should have; we have not loved our neighbour as we love ourselves. We have remained silent when we should have spoken and spoken when we should have been silent.
We seize the moment to ask you from our discordant lives for yet another chance of hearing you say to us ‘Your sins are forgiven’. May the mark of that forgiveness be your grace in us as we respond with grace and gratitude to your love.
Eternal God as we ask that you accept our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray that from the grace we have received, what we say and what we do will enable those around us to glimpse the life of the your Son -- who calmed the storm with words which still echo down the centuries, ‘Peace be still’ …..Amen.
— written by the Very Rev. John Christie, and posted on the Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website. http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/ Visit that website for other excellent lectionary-based worship resources.
