Confession of disunity
Lord, God of heaven and earth,
How your heart must grieve over the dissension and hate in the world!
You want unity here on earth,
among your children,
so the world will know that you are a God of love.
Instead, we manifest selfishness, dissent, criticism, and hatred.
Create unity in me.
I confess my prejudice toward others who don’t think like I think.
I confess my jealousy and resentment toward others who have more than me.
I confess my anger toward others who behave differently than I think they should.
I confess my excuses and my blame-shifting of my perspectives and beliefs
because I think other people are worse than me.
That creates disunity.
I want your Spirit to reign in my life,
causing love and unity toward all people,
regardless of politics, religion, race, economics, or anything else.
Create unity in our church.
I confess our selfishness because we care more about what church gives us
than we do about giving ourselves to mission.
I confess our petty bickering about politics,
because we care more about the kingdom of men than the kingdom of God.
I confess our vanity because we care more about appearances, success, and vibe
than we do about worshiping you.
I confess our arrogance toward our leaders because we care more about being in charge than we do about supporting the leaders God’s already put in charge.
Create unity in our country.
I confess our history of prejudice and racism.
I confess our obsession with the American dream.
I confess our distortion of freedom and religion.
I confess our worship of public officials, monuments, celebrities, and the wealthy.
I confess our disregard for the dignity of human life–for our abortions, our death sentences, our slums, our prisons, our neglect of the elderly, the poor, and the sick.
I confess our failure to model the love of Jesus and raise up generations that seek you above all else.
Create in me a clean heart, O God. May we reflect the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
“I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”–John 17:23
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity”.–Colossians 3:14
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”–1 Corinthians 12:12
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”–Ephesians 4:1-3
