She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bibleናሙና

Prayers of Confession and Repentance

Once we’ve praised our Father, once we’ve put Him where He belongs and remembered who is Good, it’s hard to not feel like the spotlight shifts to our own ick. It is a beautiful truth that because of our standing with Christ Jesus, it’s not our confession of our sin that enables us to be saved. You’re not required to remember all the things that you’ve done or describe your transgressions in depth to be pardoned. Like all of the other beautiful parts of sanctification, our Father has given us wisdom regarding confession and repentance so that we can grow closer to Him and one another. It’s not a have to, it’s a get to.

But how to? Psalm 32 presents a beautiful picture. The first step - don’t keep silent. Don’t hide from Him, don’t avoid Him, don’t drown Him out. The days I regret most in this life are the ones where I’ve put my spiritual fingers in my ears and made enough noise or listened to enough chatter from others and refused to sit quietly with my ears tuned to the Spirit and my heart honestly telling the Lord where I’m at. Don’t keep silent. Be honest with Him about where your heart is at and what you’ve been up to. It’s silly really to hide from someone who sees all and whose love covers all. How much time does a child waste and how much more wrath will they store up for themselves when they run from a parent who longs to restore them to right standing?

Next, get honest and acknowledge your sin. How have you hurt others? How have you hurt yourself? How have you committed sin and what have you not done that should have been done? Again, it’s not about checking it all off. It’s about being honest.  When the disobedient child finally faces His parent, is it wise or unwise to pretend like they have no idea what it is they’re being called to acknowledge? Hold your hands and your heart up to Him and show Him what you’ve got.

Lastly, we’d be missing the beauty of the gospel if our next step in confession and repentance involved “cleaning ourselves up” or “fixing what we’ve done.” David says, “you are a hiding place for me,” and that is absolutely the perfect response for a repentant heart. Remind yourself that you’re covered in the blood of Jesus and praise Him for letting you be there. Walk forward in the knowledge that you are justified and hidden in the covenantal love of your Redeemer.