Prayer of Confession, OT20B

Call to Confession

" ... the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26-27) Therefore, let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy.

Prayer of Confession, OT20B

We sit before shrines
that we have built
and call upon your name,
but we do not expect you to save us, God.
Instead, we rely
on the gods around us --
the gods we really worship --
to guide our steps ...
to govern our ways.
Forgive us, God,
and grant us wisdom
and discernment,
that we might hear your voice
above the din of voices in our heads:
the voices of greed
and lust
and fear.
Transform our thinking
that our devotion to you
becomes ever more clear
in our sacrifices of thanksgiving
and of praise.

Assurance of God's Grace

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15) In the name of Jesus 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 everyone you encounter this day.