PENITENTIAL PRAYERS FOR THE DAYS OF AWE & YOM KIPPUR

Yahweh our God, God of gods and Lord of lords, may our prayer come before You who dwells in the highest heaven. What can we say to You who dwells on high; what shall we relate to You who abides in the heavens?

For You know all the hidden and revealed things. You know the mysteries of the universe and the hidden secrets of every living being. You search all our innermost thoughts, and probe our mind and heart; nothing is hidden from You and nothing is concealed in Your sight.

Ashamnu Prayer We are not so brazen and obstinate or hardened as to say before You, Yahweh our God, that we are righteous and have not sinned - rather, truly we and our forefathers have sinned. We have been unmindful of Your covenant and turned away from the keeping of Your good commandments and Your laws. We have walked in our own ways and neglected Your counsel. We have been slothful and negligent in the keeping of Your precepts and exalted our own reasonings above the truth of Your Word and have done evil in Your sight. We have been wicked, we have corrupted, we have been abominable, we have strayed and have become guilty in Your sight. We have betrayed, we have robbed, we have spoken slander. We have caused perversion, we have caused wickedness, we have sinned willfully, we have extorted, we have accused falsely. We have counseled evil, we have scorned, we have provoked, we have been perverse. We have rebelled, we have acted wantonly, we have been deceitful, we have persecuted, we have been obstinate and self-centered. We have not set You before our eyes and lived according to Your holy standards.

But You are righteous and just, and Your laws are holy and good and all our righteousness is as filthy rags in Your sight. Thank You our God and God of our fathers, that You forgive all our sins, pardon all our iniquities, and grant atonement for all our transgressions through Y'shua the Messiah. For it is written: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So we come before You on the basis of the sacrifice of Your beloved Son Y'shua who made atonement for us and we ask, Yahweh our God, that You would have mercy on us and that You would forgive us for all our iniquities, and You would pardon us for all our sins which we confess before You this day, and that You would wash us and cleanse us through the blood of Y'shua, our Messiah.

Al Cheit Prayer Forgive us the breach of both Your positive and the negative commands, in the sins which we have committed before You by negligence and carelessness, knowingly or in ignorance and for all our sins of omission. For the sin which we have committed before You under compulsion or in subservience. And for the sin which we have committed before You by hardening our hearts. For the sin which we have committed before You knowingly and casting off the yoke of Your commandments to follow our lustful desires. For the sin we have committed against You by being stiff-necked and stubborn of heart, For the sin which we have committed before You intentionally or unintentionally, by attitudes of presumption. For the sin which we have committed before You by refusing to seek Your Kingdom with all of our heart. For all these, forgive us and pardon us through Y'shua's atonement for us.

For that which we have sinned before You through desecration of Your holy Name. For the sin that we have committed before You through insincere confession and for the sin which we have committed before You by making vain oaths and vows we have not kept. For the sin that we have committed before You through denial or false promises; and for the sin which we have committed before You by frivolity and light-headedness, For the sin that we have committed before You through haughtiness and insincerity. For the sin which we have committed against You by sinful meditation of the heart and by indulging evil and improper thoughts. For the sin we have committed by defiling Your holy temple with these impurities. For all these, we ask You forgive and pardon us through Y'shua's atonement for us. For the sin we committed in Your sight by being lukewarm, and not loving You with all our hearts and souls. For the sin which we have committed before You with knowledge and with deceit, to follow our lustful desires. And for the sin which we have committed before You openly or secretly, in public or in private. For the sin that we have committed before You in careless living; For the sin which we have committed before You by following the lusts of our flesh with improper eating and drinking. For the sin we have committed before You by dishonouring our bodies as Your holy temple. For the sin which we have committed before You by an association with impurity, and for the sin that we have sinned before You through immorality in thought or in deed and in the sin of lust. For all these, forgive us and pardon us through Y'shua's atonement for us.

For the sin we have committed against You in not being subject to those You have placed in authority over us. For the sin that we have committed before You by having disrespect for parents and teachers; and for the sin before You by hardening our hearts to Your correction. For the sin which we have committed before You by neglecting our responsibilities and for the sin of selfishness. For the sin we committed in Your sight by being proud, and for practicing our righteousness before men. For the sin we committed in Your sight by loving the world, and the things in the world. For the sin we committed in Your sight by putting other things before You, and for the sin of idolatry. For the sin we committed in Your sight by not praying at all times, and for the sin of not being thankful. For the sin we committed in Your sight by being anxious about the things of this life, and for the sin of not trusting You to provide for all of our needs. For the sin we committed in Your sight by setting our minds on the things below, and not on things above. For all these, forgive us and pardon us through Y'shua's atonement for us.

For the sin which we have committed before You by wronging a fellowman. And for the sin which we have committed before You by deceiving and scheming against a fellowman. For the sin which we have committed before You by stealing what was not rightfully ours to take. For the sin we have committed against You by coveting our neighbour's goods. For the sin which we have committed before You of not giving a correct measure; For the sin we committed in Your sight by not being merciful and having a begrudging eye, and for withholding when we could have given. For the sin we have committed before You by not loving our neighbour as ourselves and seeking their good. For all these, we ask You to forgive and pardon us through Y'shua's atonement for us.

For the sin that we have committed before You through impure lips; and for the sin that we have committed before You through idle talk and uncontrolled tongues. For the sin that we have committed before You in judging our neighbour and for the sin we have committed against You in slander and idle gossip, and for the sin which we have committed before You by tale-bearing. For the sin that we have committed before You through scorning and cursing our neighbour; and for the sin that we have committed before You through evil talk about another and for the sin which we have committed before You by speech that is harsh and unloving in Your sight. For the sin which we have committed before You with the idle chatter of our lips; and for the sin which we have committed before You by foolish talk and joking. For all these, we ask You forgive and pardon us through Y'shua's atonement for us.

For the sin that we have committed before You by harboring hatred in our hearts; For the sin we have committed

against You by contentiousness, argumentativeness and strife and not turning the other cheek.

For the sin we committed in Your sight by not being quick to forgive, and for the sin of holding resentments. For the sin we committed in Your sight by not going the second mile, and for the sin of impatience. For the sin which we have committed before You by wrong attitudes to our neighbour. For the sin which we have committed before You with proud looks and a haughty attitude. For the sin which we have committed before You by false denial and lying and misrepresenting the truth. For all these, we ask You forgive and pardon us through Y'shua's atonement for us.

For the sin we committed in Your sight by not doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. For the sins that we have committed before You with prying eyes and evil thoughts. For the sin we have committed against You by coveting our neighbour's goods, and for the sin of greed. For the sin that we have committed before You by taking that which was not rightfully ours to take. For the sin which we have committed in dishonest business dealings and not giving the correct value for time, money and work. For the sin we have committed of defrauding our neighbour. For the sin that we have committed before You through taking interest and extortion; And for the sin which we have committed before You by taking or giving a bribe. For the sin we have committed before You by using coercion and manipulation. For the sin which we have committed against You in taking advantage of our neighbour, and for the sin we have committed against You by a breach of trust. For all these, we ask You forgive and pardon us through Y'shua's atonement for us.

For the sin of not seeking the fulfillment of the kingdom of God and His righteousness in our lives; and for the For the sin of not loving You with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and not being zealous to live according to the example of the life of Y'shua, our Messiah.

We acknowledge that we have missed the mark, we have sinned against Your holy commandments and Your precepts. For all these things that are revealed to us, we ask that You would forgive us through the sacrifice of Y'shua, Your dear Son, and for the secret iniquities of the heart that are not revealed, we ask that You would purge and purify and cleanse us from all unrighteousness through the power of the precious blood of Y'shua. Amen

CLOSING MEDITATION

My God, guard my lips from evil and my tongue from speaking deceit. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Yahweh, my strength and my redeemer. Amen.

"Wait on Yahweh; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on Yahweh!" Psalm 27:14

This is an adaption of the Messianic form of the congregational prayer (Viduy) used on Yom Kippur to seek atonement for sins committed in the past year. It can be used in the days preceding Yom Kippur to bring a higher level of conviction and consciousness of sin, knowing that our heavenly Father is compassionate and merciful toward a penitent sinner and will forgive us our sins if we confess them before Him. 1 John 1:7-9