The following originally appeared as part of "Grounded and Growing—Bearing Fruit Week 5: Generosity & Kindness."
Prayer of Confession
Good and gracious God,
you made this world from a place of pure delight.
From the outpouring of your love came
daffodils and walruses,
mighty fir trees,
and the whole breadth of humanity.
Everything we have is a gift from you.
But we want to hoard those gifts
and convince ourselves that the good things in our life
are of our own making.
In our pride we enthrone ourselves upon
the piles of our possessions,
trophies, accomplishments—
even our acts of righteousness and obedience.
From this place of self-righteousness,
we revel in holding grudges against those who have wronged us,
hoarding our mercy and forgiveness.
O God, do not repay us in kind.
When we have tumbled off our thrones
and fallen at your feet, humbled and chastened,
forgive us.
By your Spirit enlarge our hearts
that we might receive life as a gift,
and be generous with our lives in return.
For we are followers of Christ Jesus,
who gave everything, laying down his life for us.
We want to be like Jesus, God.
Help us.
Amen.
