Here’s a prayer of confession about temptation. It comes from the United Church of Christ’s
Worship Ways Archive.
Prayer of Confession
God did not say,
“You shall not be
tempted;
you shall not be
troubled; you shall not be distressed.”
God did say, “You shall
not be overcome.”
Jesus, full of the Holy
Spirit, was led into the wilderness,
where he was tempted.
Sheltering God, Guiding
God,
as you were present with
Jesus in his wilderness experience,
so you are present with
us:
you have urged us to
trust you:
“Love me and call upon
me, and I will answer you,
I will be with you in
trouble, and will honor you.”
We have felt
discouraged,
and at times even
abandoned and betrayed by you, O God,
when all manner of
things have not gone well with
us.
Lord, have mercy.
Instead of following
where you lead, O God,
at times we follow a
tempter who shows us a vision of the world
that is a mere
counterfeit of what you desire for us.
At times, O God, we are
deceived and enticed
by imitations of love,
abundance, and joy.
Christ, have mercy.
O God, when you have not
answered in the ways or in the time we desire,
we have been tempted to
lean on our own understanding
and not acknowledge you
in all ways.
We so often have sought
to control our lives and order our own steps,
often ignoring your
wisdom and pushing your guidance aside.
Lord, have mercy.
Help us to trust you to
journey with us and to guide us.
Help us to rest in your
promise to never leave us or forsake us. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Sisters and brothers,
God is at work in us and with us!
God is our clothing in
which love enwraps us, holds us, and all encloses us
because of God’s tender
love, so that God may never leave us.
We are protected safely in
love—in woe as in well—by the goodness of God.
God urges us, “Keep the word near you, even on your lips
and in your heart…
This word is your salvation.”
As we worship today,
with the word on our lips and in our hearts,
experience the salvation
of God for all manner of things in our lives.
In the promise,
presence, and power of God for all manner of things, Amen.
