We Do Not Worship Your True Self—Prayer of Confession For Having Shaped God into What We Want

Published June 10, 2026

Updated June 10, 2026

Person kneeling in prayer

This prayer of confession originally appeared in "Are We Faking It?—Lent 1: A Convenient God?"

Prayer

Eternal God, you do not change. 
You have revealed yourself to us in your Word. 
You call us to worship you in Spirit and in Truth. 
But we confess that we often worship not your true Self but who we wish you to be. 
We too often ask you to bless what we do rather than seeking to do what you bless. 
Forgive us for seeking concessions when we should be seeking guidance. 
Forgive us when our worship shapes you into what we want instead of shaping us into what you want. 
Help us to meet you here in your house 
that we might bow before your unspeakable majesty 
and so live for you now and ever, in the Christ. Amen.