It’s the Little Things: Confession Cycle

These unison confessional prayers were created to accompany the stewardship sermon series “It’s the Little Things.” 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.”

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Week 1: Bread Crumbs and Bravery

God of lovingkindness, we confess we have been secretly delighted
to believe we do not have enough to help. 
“I’d love to make a difference,” we say, 
“but I just don’t have enough money, enough time, 
enough energy, enough ideas, enough to share. 
I am too small and I have too little. Count me out.”
Open our eyes to see the power of small things:
a loaf of bread, a cup of tea, 
a bill in the offering plate, donated blood,
a shared smile, a moment of solidarity, 
an unhurried hour, a wrong repented.
Instill in us a shameless generosity,
that sees the seeds of miracles in the smallest offerings. 
In the name of Christ, we make our prayer. Amen.

Week 2: Sparrows and Sustenance

God of lovingkindness, we confess today
to a warped sense of what is necessary.
We are discontented that we do not have more—
more stuff, more prestige, more money, more control.
We spend and shop and schedule ourselves into an overstuffed life.
Yet we are content to let so many live empty,
without enough food or shelter or support to survive.
Give us perspective, O Lord. 
Help us see that there is enough for us and for them,
for ravens and lilies and all of creation,
when we live with gratitude and not greed.
In the name of Christ, we make our prayer. Amen.

Week 3: Coins and Constancy

God of lovingkindness, we confess
that we have adored the idea of the big gift;
the windfall that solves all our problems;
the donation that makes headlines.
Yet you cherished a two-penny donation,
because it revealed riches within a heart.
Redirect our attention, Lord,
to all those little gifts given to the church and by the church
that reveal extraordinary sacrifice, trust, and love.
Give us the courage to give you our whole lives
not for external approbation or applause,
but simply because they were yours all along.
In the name of Christ, we make our prayer. Amen.

Week 4: Heaven in Hiding

God of lovingkindness, we confess
that we have overlooked the greatness of small things.
We have set our own thresholds and metrics
for what we consider important.
One prayer answered does not excite us;
one life changed does not amaze us.
And yet your work in this world
is as minute and intricate as any artist’s.
Give us eyes to see your kingdom stirring around us,
and when you call us, to work alongside you
in nurturing life for all your creation.
In the name of Christ, we make our prayer. Amen.