THE BLESSING OF CONFESSING – 08/30/2019

Prayer:   Lord, may we receive the blessing of confessing.

Scripture:  How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.  I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”’ and You forgave the guilt of my sin.  Selah.  Psalm 32:1-5 NASB

Confession can often be a confusing part of prayer. Usually when we hear the word “confess,” we immediately think of declaring or admitting a wrong or sin. Surprisingly, in Scripture the word, “confess” is used more often in terms of declaring your faith or pronouncing Jesus / God as LORD. Both of these concepts are important parts of confession in prayer.

Confession of our sin is essential if we want God to hear our prayers. Sin separates us from His blessing. Jesus insured that we would not be separated from God’s love by paying the punishment price of our sin but Jesus did not exclude us from obedience and confession when we fail. Jesus provided the bridge between us and God so that we could go humbly to the throne and ask forgiveness.

When we confess our sin we should be specific. Do not just pray, “Forgive me of all of my sins.” Ask forgiveness for the specific thoughts, words or acts that you know were wrong. Do not try to justify them, just confess them. Confession admits sin therefore confessing that we are agreeing with God and His authority over us.

Confession also aligns us with God’s word and will. We confess He is Lord by admitting the sin and align as His child by repenting and refusing to repeat that sin. We walk away from the transgression and walk with Him. Confession opens God’s ears to the rest of your prayers. He will not accept your praise if they come from unclean lips, both blessings and curses cannot come from the same mouth. (James 3:10) He will not hear your intercession or give you what you ask for; who would bless a disobedient student or child knowing they are disrespecting and trying to deceive you?  Even your thanks will feel hollow; what grateful heart returns love with deliberate disobedience?

Confession clears the path for our prayers to enter the throne room of heaven and be heard by our Abba, Father who is first, Holy, and worthy of our confession. It creates a clean heart in us and renews a steadfast spirit within us (Psalm 51:10)

Prayer lesson:  Practice confession as a part of your personal prayer life. Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the great High Priest, we confess to Him, it is not required that you tell one another. Confession is personal and only shared if you are asking a very trusted friend in Christ to help you or hold you accountable. Satan will try to take your confession and turn it back around to accuse you. Know that he is firing blanks when you have confessed and repented of that sin. Sin confessed and washed in the blood of Christ is GONE, as far as the east is from the west, forgotten! Confession clears you from guilt, any burden you feel after confessing sin and Christ’s Lordship over it is false guilt.

Copyright Dan Elliott.  Email [email protected]