Prayers of Confession - Advent
Prayer of Confession
In the season of Advent, we wait in the tension between what is and what will be. These prayers of confession help us name the brokenness in our lives and in the world, while also holding space for hope, healing, and the promise of Christ’s coming.
Below you’ll find a series of calls to confession and companion prayers. They are written in the spirit of Advent, but they speak to year-round human truths: our weariness, our waiting, and our deep desire for renewal.
Prayer of Confession 1
In this holy season of waiting, we confess not only our sin, but our weariness, our distractions, and our hesitations to hope. Let us come before God, trusting in mercy. Let us pray together:
Merciful God,
In a world of quick fixes and fast answers, we confess that we forget how to wait.
We have rushed past your voice and ignored your promises.
We have filled the silence with noise instead of listening for your coming.
Forgive us, Lord.
Renew our hope and teach us to watch again for You,
through Jesus Christ, our Coming Lord. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 2
Advent invites us to make room—not just in our schedules but in our hearts. Let us confess the ways we have closed ourselves off from God’s grace and one another. Let us pray together:
Loving God,
We admit that we have cluttered our lives with so many things.
We confess that we have not made space for you.
Our hope has grown thin, and our patience has worn out.
Forgive us for not living as people who trust in your promises.
Clear the way in us, O Lord, that Christ may be born anew in our lives. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 3
God comes not to condemn but to restore. Let us bring to the Lord the truth of our lives, and trust in the mercy that meets us here. Let us pray together:
Holy and Compassionate God,
We confess our sin, known and unknown.
We have spoken when we should have listened, and been silent when we should have spoken.
We have waited without hope and lived without trust.
Forgive us and renew us.
Make us ready for the coming of Christ,
who brings grace enough for all. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 4
Advent holds up a mirror to our longings, our fears, and our failures. Trusting in God’s tender mercy, let us speak the truth in prayer. Let us pray together:
God of all hope,
You promise light, but we prefer our familiar shadows.
You offer peace, but we cling to anxiety.
You call us to be awake, but we are so often numb.
Wake us up, O God.
Forgive what we have done and what we have left undone.
Let hope rise again in us, by the power of Your Spirit. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 5
In the quiet of this Advent moment, let us confess what stands between us and God, and allow the One who comes to draw near. Let us pray together:
God of mercy,
You call us to stay awake, but we are tired.
You call us to prepare the way, but we are distracted.
You offer us hope, but we confess our doubts.
Forgive us, O God.
Fill our hearts with the courage to believe again.
Shape us into people of watchful faith, ready to receive Christ with joy. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 6
As we light the candle of hope, we remember the gap between the world as it is and the world as it should be. Let us confess our part in that brokenness and seek God’s healing as we pray together:
Gracious God,
In this season of longing, we admit the truth:
We have not loved you with our whole hearts.
We have not loved our neighbors, and we have not even loved ourselves as you do.
Forgive us and change us.
Stir hope within us again and lead us in your ways.
In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 7
Christ is coming to bring light to every hidden place. Let us open our hearts and confess our need for grace as we pray together:
Lord of Light,
We confess the shadows we hide—
our cynicism, our selfishness, our impatience.
We confess how quickly we give up on hope.
Shine Your mercy into our lives.
Rekindle in us the light of you love,
and make us ready to receive you. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 8
Advent reminds us that the world is not as it should be, and neither are we. But God meets us with mercy. Let us confess our sin and open ourselves to grace as we pray together:
Faithful God,
We confess that we have not trusted you with our lives.
We have doubted your promises, ignored your commands,
and resisted your Spirit.
Forgive us, Lord.
Give us hearts that hope, eyes that see,
and lives that reflect the coming light of Christ. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 9
The season of Advent reminds us that God is faithful to covenant promises, even when we are not. Let us confess our sin and return to the Lord with honesty and hope.
Let us pray together:
Faithful God,
You have spoken through prophets and called us to prepare the way.
But we have grown weary in waiting,
and distracted by many things.
We confess the ways we have trusted in ourselves instead of you,
and how quickly we forget your steadfast love.
Have mercy on us.
Restore in us a longing for your kingdom,
and shape us into people who live by grace.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 10
In Advent, we remember that judgment belongs to God, and mercy does too. Trusting in God’s righteousness and grace, let us confess together:
Let us pray together:
Righteous God,
We confess that we have not lived as people of your coming kingdom.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We have been quick to speak and slow to listen.
We have made peace with injustice,
and failed to walk humbly with you.
Forgive us, Lord.
Turn our hearts again to your way.
Teach us to watch, to wait, and to witness your light breaking into the world.
Through Christ, the One who is coming and has come. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 11
God invites us not just to observe Advent, but to live it—to practice repentance, expect restoration, and long for Christ’s appearing. Let us confess our sin in that spirit of hope.
Let us pray together:
Gracious God,
You are patient and full of compassion,
but we confess that we grow restless and forgetful.
We have ignored the cries of the vulnerable
and turned inward when you called us outward.
We have spoken of peace but withheld it in practice.
Forgive us, O Lord.
Renew our hearts and our commitments.
Help us to live as those who believe your promises are true—for ourselves and for the world. Amen.
Prayer of Confession 12
Advent is a time to be honest before God—not only about what we’ve done, but who we’ve become. Let us confess our need for grace and trust in God’s renewing love.
Let us pray together:
Holy God,
You know us better than we know ourselves.
We confess that we have not lived into the identity you give us in Christ.
We have harbored resentment, turned from hard truths,
and resisted your Spirit’s prompting.
Forgive us.
Reclaim us as your people.
By your mercy, prepare us again to welcome Christ into our lives and into the world you so love. Amen.
