These unison confessional prayers were created to accompany the sermon series Walking in the Storm: Spiritual Practices for a Resilient Faith. You are welcome to use or adapt these liturgies for worship, with credit. When printing these liturgies, please use the following credit line: “Prayer by Rev. Carol Holbrook Prickett.”
Week 1: “Walking in the Storm”
God of all, we confess
that when we are overwhelmed
we do not reach out to you
but sink into our fears
and drown in our distrust.
Reach out your hand to save us.
Breathe your holy breath into our lungs again.
Rescue us and set us above the waves.
We know you can.
Amen.
Week 2: “Body Care”
Gracious God, we profess
that we are fearfully and wonderfully made
but treat ourselves and our bodies
as the least of your concerns.
Help us to be whole people,
cherishing body, mind, and soul,
the way you cherish us.
In the name of Christ,
the Word in a body, we pray.
Amen.
Week 3: “Lament”
Merciful Christ, we confess
that we are afraid of our own pain.
We are afraid it will overwhelm us
if we look at it too closely.
We are even afraid it will overwhelm you.
Remind us that you know intimately
this human life of pain and sorrow,
longing, loss, and grief.
Teach us to trust that your love
is big enough to hold our pain,
and day by day to redeem it.
Amen.
Week 4: “Forgiveness”
Merciful God, we confess
that we struggle with forgiveness.
It’s hard to forgive.
It’s hard to be forgiven.
It’s hard to offer forgiveness,
and hard to ask for it.
And even offered and received,
forgiveness seems elusive.
Lord, teach us to forgive as you forgive,
not grudgingly, but out of an abundance of love
and a belief in the power of mercy
to redeem and transform the world.
Amen.
Week 5: “Anger”
Merciful God, we confess
that we do not handle anger well.
We reach for it too quickly
or are afraid to touch it at all.
We misdirect our anger,
hurting others and ourselves.
We ignore what our anger can teach us
because we are afraid or ashamed.
We let it fester, and the wounds never heal.
Forgive us God, and direct our lives
that we might use all your good gifts
to grow good fruit for your world.
Amen.
Week 6: “Connection”
Gracious God,
you have formed us into your one body,
yet we look at each other and too often say
“I have no need of you.”
We take relationships for granted
and let our connections with others and with you
wither and snap.
Heal us of our broken places,
broken relationships,
and broken priorities,
and help us to live as interconnected members
of your true and holy body. Amen.
Week 7: “Grace”
Merciful Savior, we confess
that we are not as gracious as we wish to be.
We are quick to testiness and self-righteousness,
quick to push others away or demand they conform to our desires,
quick to consider ourselves and slow to consider others.
Slow us down, Lord,
and teach us to follow in your paths,
loving without condition,
forgiving with abundance,
and welcoming others as they are.
In the hope of your holy name we pray.
Amen.
Week 8: “Gratitude”
Merciful Savior, we confess
that we are delinquent in our gratitude
and sluggish with our thanks.
It is easier to keep a running tally
of all that is wrong, or has wronged us
than to lift our eyes to see all that is right.
Open our hearts to your goodness,
so that we cannot help but overflow
with grateful praises to your glory.
In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.
Deep Well Worship 