Almighty God, Heavenly Father, because of Thy great mercy I will go to Thy house and worship Thee in Thy temple in Thy fear. Lord, lead me in the paths of righteousness, and make Thy way straight before my face. Guide me on the paths of Thy commandments, for Thou art my God, and the Lord of my salvation. I delight in Thy sanctuary and rejoice in the congregation of Thy saints, who confess and glorify Thee. How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Magnify the Lord our God, adore at His footstool; for He is holy. I worship Thee, O God, in the accepted time through Thy great mercy. Hear me according to Thy grace. Amen.
Prayer for Sincere Repentance.
Merciful and Gracious God, Thou art slow to anger and plenteous in mercy! Thou callest us daily through the gracious preaching of Thy word to devout conversion, and in Thy name causest repentance and remission of sins to be preached. And Thou showest Thy forbearance with us through Thy long suffering and inexpressible mercy, and dost not suddenly come upon sinners in the midst of their evil deeds with Thy righteous wrath and judgment to punish them, but giveth place and time for repentance, so that no one can justly charge or accuse Thee. For Thou art not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have everlasting life. O dear God, Thou knowest the sluggishness of our flesh and the hardness of our hearts, that we through inherited sin are thus far deranged and so deeply sunk in sin, that of our own accord we can not rise or return. Therefore, for the sake of the wounds of Jesus Christ, my Lord, I beseech Thee, convert Thou me, and I am converted. For Thou art my God, and where I am converted I will truly repent. Save Thou me, O Lord, and I am saved. Help me, and I am helped. Behold, I am like an erring and lost sheep. Seek Thou Thy servant, that I forget not Thy commandments. Circumcise the foreskin of my heart. Purge me, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. O dear God, look upon me, as Thou didst look upon Mary Magdalene, the repentant sinner, as she lay at Thy feet and wept over her transgressions; and the publican in the temple, as he smote his breast and besought Thy grace. Vouchsafe unto me sincere sorrow and contrition over my sin, and a true faith with firm confidence in Thy grace, and also worthy fruits of repentance. Let me discern the day of Thy visitation, and not despise the riches of Thy mercy, so that I may not neglect the accepted time, and the day of Thy salvation, and not fail to turn to Thee, my Lord and God. May I not postpone my repentance from one day to another, nor yet to the last hour, but rather turn to Thee this day and repent. Amen.
Prayer for the Forgiveness of Sins.
Merciful Father, Eternal God, my sins are grievous, many and great my transgressions, and mine iniquities are innumerable, for the imaginations of my heart are evil from my youth. O Lord, who can understand his errors? Behold, I acknowledge my transgressions: my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned, and done evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest. I beseech Thine infinite mercy, enter not into judgment with Thy servant: for in Thy sight shall no living man be justified. If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? Behold, if Thou contendest with man, he can not answer Thee one of a thousand, for all our righteousness before Thee is as the filthy rag. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving kindness: according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin for Thy name’s sake. Lord, have mercy upon me, save my soul, for, alas! I have sinned against Thee. Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies and Thy loving kindnesses; for they have been ever as of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. Remember that we are flesh, as the wind which bloweth and doth not return, and cease in Thy anger and wrath against us. O merciful God, I acknowledge that my virtues and my deeds can never blot out my sins, nor yet merit Thy grace. Only the innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ, the Lamb without spot or blemish, is the true offering for our iniquities, and His blood, shed for the remission of our sins, is the cleansing and purification of our souls. In such confidence and hope I supplicate Thee: forgive Thou the transgressions of Thy people. Cover our sins. Impute not our iniquities, for Thou art merciful. Cleanse Thou me from secret fault. Let my sorrowing soul and my vexed bones again rejoice, for with Thee there is mercy and plenteous redemption. O Lord, hear the voice of my supplication, and despise not the groanings of my heart, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Prayer for True Faith.
Lord, Almighty God, Thou Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, from whom every good and perfect gift cometh, I pray Thee, since all men have not faith: implant and maintain in my heart through the workings of Thy Holy Spirit the true knowledge of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and increase it from day to day, so that I, too, may be filled with the knowledge of Thy will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that I may walk worthy of Thee unto all pleasing, being faithful in every good work, and increase in such knowledge according to Thy glorious power in all patience and long suffering with joy. Grant unto me, according to the riches of Thy glory, that I may be strengthened with might by Thy Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in my heart by faith. O dear God, since no man knoweth the Son but Thou, O Father, and no man knoweth Thee, the Father, but only the same Thy Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Thee, I pray Thee, draw Thou me unto Thee. Grant me the knowledge of salvation, which is the forgiveness of sins. Strengthen my weak faith, which is small as the mustard seed, so that it may increase, and I be rooted and grounded in Thee, and may stand steadfast and unmoveable. Gracious God, Thou hast kindled the spark of faith in my heart and has begun this good work in me, I cry to Thee, perfect it until the end, that we may ever increase in knowledge and understanding, and be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Preserve what Thou hast begun, that we might war a good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience, and not waver or succumb in trial and temptation and make shipwreck concerning faith. Therefore protect me, my God, that I am not led astray among the errors, schisms, and heresies of the world. Preserve me from superstitions and all false doctrine, that I may neither err nor doubt in any article of faith. And vouchsafe unto me Thy grace, that my faith be not lifeless, inactive, or without good fruits, but active and energetic, serving in love, so that I, too, may carry off the end of faith, which is the soul’s salvation. Amen.
Prayer Before Confession.
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou my Redeemer, Thou hast given unto Thy dear Church on earth and its faithful servants the sacred office of the keys, and invested it with the promise, that whatsoever by virtue of the same they shall loose or bind on earth shall also be loosed or bound in heaven: I thank Thee, and eternally praise and glorify Thee, for such Thy gracious gift. And, since I a poor and bound sinner need this blessed key which looseth, so that I may not be kept under the bonds of the infernal jailer, I beseech Thine infinite mercy, that I may receive its comfort through my spiritual father, my pastor, and for the sake of Thy holy, precious blood and Thy innocent offering and death be loosed from all my sins. Grant me Thy Holy Spirit, so that I may grasp this holy absolution in heartfelt contrition and undoubting trust, firm resolve, brotherly love and gratitude, and inherit the eternal life. Amen.