“Drugs don’t work in patients who don’t take them.” C. Everett Koop, U.S. Surgeon General

Jesus knew that prayer cannot be preached into effectiveness. It cannot be downloaded like an app. Jesus knew that prayer is caught….not taught. And so, he lowers the barriers to prayer. Simplifies the concepts to just a few. Less is more. He didn’t want people to know about prayer, for there is no power in that. He wanted his disciples to participate in prayer.

The words sin and debts are interchangeable in the Aramaic. That is why some of our friends in other denominations say in the Lord’s prayer, “forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” We use the word “trespass” which means to enter the owner’s land or property without permission or to commit an offense against a person or set of rules. When we trespass, things get broken beyond human repair. That is why we need a savior. A master craftsman who can take the broken pieces and put them back together in a beautiful mosaic fully usable again.

Confession, acknowledging our need for forgiveness, is the instrument God has graciously given to stop us from walking around the corner, down the street, and out of the country of righteousness.

Confession doesn’t work in those who do not confess. Captain “Todd Nelson” Obvious

The truth is that God is more ready to hear than we are to prayer.

And God is also more ready to forgive than we are to confess.

A prayer of examen: Psalm 139:23–24 (NRSV) 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. 24 See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.