prayers

A confession of sin:

Father, you tell us in your Word that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. We confess that we have frequently relaxed our faith. We have allowed ourselves to become cynical, and our cynicism has boiled over with slander, criticism, prayerlessness, and pessimism. How easily we’ve allowed ourselves to crumple under the stresses of our lives. Forgive us for our smallness of faith. In your mercy, hear us, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

— from The Worship Sourcebook

A prayer for one of my kids after a hard first day of school:

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. Psalm 3:3