Prayer of Confession, E7B

Call to Confession

The Lord tests the mind and searches the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings. (Jeremiah 17:10). Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy.

Prayer of Confession

Forgive us, Lord.
In seeking leadership for our communities,
for our nations,
for our world,
we fail to explore all the possibilities,
choosing to leave the marginalized
in the margins,
excluding their voices from the meeting table,
opting, instead,
for those who represent our own sense of security.
If we remember to seek your guidance, Lord,
we don't often recognize your voice when we hear it,
usually because we have not made time to nurture
a relationship with you;
we do not listen with a discerning ear,
but with a self-serving one;
we defer to the loudest and most obnoxious voices;
we insist on our own way.
Forgive us, we pray.
Move your Spirit among and within us.
Open our eyes to the call that is in front of us.
Open our ears to hear the truth.
Open our hearts to the law of love
which you have commanded us to follow
first and foremost,
and teach us to be the leaders you have called us to be
for the sake of a turbulent world.



Assurance of God's Grace

And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:27) In the name of the risen Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day ...