That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. Joel 2:12-13 (NLT)
Heavenly Father, yet again, your Spirit has brought conviction, your grace has generated grief, and your kindness now leads us to repentance. What a Father you are—so holy and so merciful, so welcoming and so eager to redeem, so patient and so filled with unfailing love. Hear our confession.
- We confess caring more about what other’s think of us than what you declare to be true of us.
- We confess wasting time on non-eternal trifles more readily than seeking your face and heart-engaging fellowship with you.
- We confess it’s easier for us to share criticism and gossip than to share the gospel and pray.
- We confess under-believing the gospel and over-believing our emotions.
- We confess binging on fear and worry, rather than feasting on grace and feeding our faith.
- We confess hoarding our brokenness and weakness, rather than letting friends enter our pain and suffering.
- We confess indulging irritation and justifying our resentment, rather than forbearing with others and forgiving them as Jesus has forgiven us.
Have mercy on us, Father… have mercy on me. If you dealt with us according to our sins, we could not stand. If you repaid us for all our transgressions, we’d despair forever.
But our hope is sure, for it is built on nothing less, nothing more, and nothing other than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. We bless you, Father, for the gift of Jesus—for his perfect life lived for us, and his judgment-exhausting death on the cross. As you have forgiven us, and declared us righteous in Christ, so change us and make us more like Jesus. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ merciful and mighty name.
