Prayer of Confession, P+3C

Call to Confession

With (your) voice, cry to the Lord;
    with (your) voice, make supplication to the Lord.  (Psalm 142:1, paraphrased)
Let us cry to the Lord for forgiveness and seek God's mercy:

Prayer of Confession

O God,
in the words of modern psalmist, Jelly Roll,
"we only talk to you when we need a Savior;
we only pray when we don't have a prayer."
We do not cry out to you
until we're in trouble,
and then we expect you to rescue us
from the natural, logical consequences
of our bad behavior.
And so we call upon you again,
begging for your forgiveness, Lord.
We do not call to mind your mighty deeds,
nor remember on your wonders,
nor meditate on your works. 
We fail to recall the ways in which 
you have shepherded your people
and provided for us
until we are in so deep
that we cannot dig ourselves out.
Hear our prayers for mercy! 
We do not deserve your grace
and yet we cannot live without it.
Show us the path, we pray,
through the waters that threaten to drown us.
Lead your flock to safety,
and remind us to whom we belong.

Assurance of God's Grace

... the Lord ... has heard
    (our) voices and (our) supplications.
Because (God) inclined (God's) ear to (us),
    therefore (we) will call on (God) as long as (we) live.  (Psalm 116:1-2, paraphrased)

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 week.