Confessional Prayer

[podcast]http://www.revkwon.com/podcast/prayer-confessions.mp3[/podcast] In the first autobiography ever written in the Western Hemisphere, a man name Augustine outlines how he became a Christ follower in a book he named, “Confessions”. In this book, we learn that one of the most important figures in Christian history didn’t become a Christian until he was about 33 years old even though he was born and raised in a church his entire life. In that regard, he may be more like us than we realize. He tells us he was nowhere near holiness and that’s when he finally randomly opened up his Bible to Romans 13:13-14 and asked Jesus into his life– the story says there was a childlike voice he heard telling him to read those verses and he did. So why do I tell you this? It’s because his autobiography was actually a set of prayers to God, confessions, if you will, so that he can find rest in God. This is one of the most fundamental reasons we need to pray as Christians– so that our restless hearts can find rest in Christ. I’m not going to make you sit in groups for this one, but I want you to spend a few minutes right now and think about this question: when was the last time you confessed your sins to God? Number two, if you haven’t confessed your sins to God recently or ever, then I want you to spend some time right now to do just that—confess your sins to God and tell Him what’s in your heart that’s making you restless. Let’s open up our Bibles to 1 John 1:5-10. ⁵This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. – 1^st John 1:5-10 In reading this passage I realized that many of us may not know exactly what sin is. The reason many of us may not know what it means exactly is because we hear it so often that we think we know what it means but it actually doesn’t mean what we think it means because we don’t really know what it means. So “sin” is any act that is a transgression against God’s commands. To transgress means “to step across” or “to go beyond a set boundary or limit.” This concept can be compared with an athletic playing field with lines delineating the boundaries within which the game is to be played. When a player crosses over boundaries, he has committed a “transgression”; he has gone out of bounds. Limits are set that define the playing area, and the players are to keep inside the limits. Also, you can translate the word “sin” in the Bible with a second idea, “to miss the mark.” Again, to use a sports analogy, if a player aims for the goal and misses, how many points does he get? None. He missed the goal; he missed the mark at which he was aiming. This view of sin includes the concept of our intending to go in one direction but straying off course to the side and not continuing in the direction we planned, with the result that we don’t make it to the goal we intended. We miss. I want you to hear what John is saying in this passage. He is saying, let’s look at verse 7—when we stop hiding because God does not hide, we will get to know other people and other people will know us, and Jesus will make sure that the boundaries we’ve crossed or the marks that we missed don’t count against us. In verse 8, some people think that they are perfect, and John is saying that those people who don’t know how imperfect they really are, those people are idiots who are lying to themselves. This is key now, I want you to take your pens and underline this next verse in your Bibles and in your notes: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The reason we pray to God our confessions is because that’s the only way God can forgive us and cleanse us from being dirty and worthless. [Let’s watch this video] Let’s pick up the Bible again—1^st John 2:1-2 ¹My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. – 1 John 2:1-2 Sometimes we think it is embarrassing for us to confess the ways and times we messed up to God, but John is saying that it’s not embarrassing, nor is it wrong for us to confess. In fact, the Bible is teaching us that we need to confess and we should feel comfortable with God to confess our sins. Jesus made a way for us to confess without worrying that our confessions may blow back and harm us. Our confessions allow Jesus to advocate for us. He cannot advocate on your behalf if you, yourself, will not own up to it. We need to own our mistakes in sin. We need to confess them to God in prayer. So what does confession look like? Let’s go to Psalm 51. This is how King David confessed before God. I think there are three important things to learn from it. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:1-12

1. Confessional prayers recognize God’s power and ability to cleanse our sins.
2. Confessional prayers fully actualize our sin and the reason we sinned.
3. Confessional prayers ask God for restoration.

When you pray confessionally before God, He forgives and makes you better than you were. Let’s pray to God our confessions without ceasing. There is nothing to be ashamed of, and nothing but the power of Jesus to make us whole again.