Pure and Holy Triune God, We confess this day that we have failed in various ways to uphold your law. Particularly, we have shrunk away from sharing the gospel. We confess that even our zeal for evangelism has at times been mere posturing. Our fear of rejection and persecution, of ridicule and mockery has given us pause. We have not sought out the opportunities we might have otherwise had, We have cloistered ourselves away from unbelievers. But most grievously, Lord, we have not shared our hope with the world because that hope did not excite us enough. Lord and Father, impress upon our hearts the weight of our sin and the corresponding greatness of your mercy. Enable us, by your Spirit, to be so joyful in our salvation that we become eager to share the reasons we have for hope! Empower us to trust in you, not only for the proper opportunities, but also to bring forth fruit. We confess our failures to you knowing that you have defeated our sin and its guilt. We come to you this day and pray that you would restore our souls and delight us once more in you. Bless us, O Lord, that all the nations might praise your name! We pray in the name of our great high priest, Jesus Christ, amen. (Based on various passages like 1 Peter 3 and Psalm 67)
