Lent Journey - 2016Sample

LENT IS FOR TURNING

DAILY PRAYER REQUEST: Lord, help me to turn towards you.

DAILY THOUGHT: CONFESSION
Confession is very closely related to repentance. When we confess we let God and trusted others know about our failures and weaknesses. It is an activity that nourishes our experience of God’s grace and mercy, as well as our sense of being loved and accepted by those who walk with us along the pathway of repentance. In confession we let dear friends in Christ know who we really are. We lay down the burdens of pretending and hiding which use up so much of our energy. No wonder early followers of Christ were counselled, “Confess your faults to each other, and pray for each other, so you may be healed” (James 5:16). Confession can be one of the most healing things we ever do.

DAILY PRACTICE:
Pray the prayer request for the week. Read slowly today the words of the Psalm 139: 23–24. Then ask the Lord today to help you recognise where there is a gap between appearance and reality in your walk with God. Or to put it more simply, where do you sometimes pretend to be who you are not? Take time to come before the Lord and to confess whatever he reveals to you. Perhaps today you can also begin to think of some friend in Christ with whom you can become more honest about these gaps.