Goal: Praying A Confession
Fellas, thanks for sticking with it, it's day four.
So today, as we continue to build into the activity of prayer, I want to center our prayer time on word that may be a little foreign to some people. The word is confession. To confess, literally means to "agree with" God. Therefore to confess in prayer means that we are verbalizing what God needs to hear from us not because he doesn't know it, but more because we need to be sharing it. Confession is an opportunity to make our hurts, hang-ups, and sinful habits known with God. God loves it when we are honest with Him and thus honest with ourselves about who we are and even who we want to be. Missing the opportunity to confess during our prayer time is to miss an opportunity to grow closer with God himself. God is the most accepting, loving, merciful, forgiving relationship we will ever have, and learning to confess with him leads to spiritual healing. And who does not want that? Note what James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed."
Today what I want you to do is reflect on the last 24 hours of your life, consider where you have sinned it, or caused suffering for another and then confess it to God. I do not want you to be general in this confession, but rather specific. Invest 5-minutes in prayer confessing these three things. Tell God who you wronged, what you did wrong, why you did it, and how you would like to be different. That's it. Now, this might be a bit more reflective and have a serious tone but give it 5-minutes in an out-loud prayer today.
So do this today, and then when you are done, comment below by sharing below one thing you learned during your time of confession with God. You do not need to share what you confessed, but what you learned in confession.
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Confession strengthens my relationship with God.
Yes it does brother. Stay after it.
This is not who I did something wrong to but I have had a grudge against someone who wronged me and I want to ask his forgiveness of me having bad feelings
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I learned more about Gods forgiveness and grace.
Way to go BL
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I’ve been having a hard time understanding how to give a situation to God, I think this exercise just opened my eyes.
The hardest is probably confessing to what you think is a victimless sin, only against God
My mother
I did not spend enough time with her
I dont really know
I.would like to be a more caring son
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I learned that when speaking bad about someone in a negative way. That is a sin.
Confessing today helped me acknowledge what I did and gave me courage to approach that person and apologize.
I asked for forgiveness to those I wronged and what I did wrong, and felt great to do it.
I learned that confessing led to more clearly understanding where I could have applied the Word to avoid problem. I feel better prepared for similar situations.
I like the reminder that God already knows what I’m confessing but it’s for my benefit and the health of me confessing to Him what I want to be, who I need Him to be, what I want to surrender to Him, etc.
It felt more comforting to pray aloud my confession rather than living with it in my head. Amen.
That was a little difficult but it felt good to confess. I’ve certainly learned from it.
Selfish motives seem to be the common thread when I hurt and wrong others. I need to change my motivation to encourage others and point them to Christ.
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I learned I am quick to speak and slow to listen rather than the model James has for us in James 1:19. Lord help me to be more reflective & less reactive.
I can see the importance of being specific. My confession has typically been more general
My actions affect others. Even if it’s something small like my tone in my voice. Keep in mind the thoughts of others.
I am new to 5 minutes a day with God it is foreign yet refreshing it certainly brings peacefulness to my existence I am an active man and I feel good about my life for the first time in a long time. I have been given the chance to have a relationship with a wonderful woman once again and I intend to be to her what she has not had before and I am asking for help to insure longevity is there I know without Christ it will fail neither of us are perfect we need to keep him in our life centered in our life everything else will fall into place I need help leading the house in prayer and worship as a man should
You can certainly see your expertise in the work you write. The world hopes for more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always follow your heart.
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The thing I learned by confessing out loud today was that I need to love people more.
To really take time to review the day opening up to the Lord daily will keep accountable before Him.
This actually answered my downside, thanks!
Confession brings freedom
It’s relieving and humbling to verbalize our sin. Even taking 5 min out of my day to do that is a weight off the shoulders, especially knowing God cares about our struggles.
It helps you work through the sin, in this case figuring out the root cause so I can work on what is really the issue.
I’m robbing myself. Small compromises lead to bigger ones
As I ask God to forgive my sins and cleanse my heart, I know only then that my tongue be cleansed also.
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Self-reflection is not easy. Finding a way to bear your soul before God is a very uncomfortable situation. Through this process, I recognized my ability to still try and hide, though I know how fruitless this attempt at hiding is.
When I pray particularly about who and why I wronged someone, it helps me to be reminded of the grace God offers me that I should too extend to others. Good stuff.
My impatience comes from forgetting that the Holy Spirit dwells in me.
You are being prayed for today. Be filled!!🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Wow. This fits really nice with something I’ve been wanting to work on.
After giving up drinking several months ago I’ve been sort of taking personal inventory on people I may have wronged over the years. So to me this idea of confessing sin out loud really helped me recognize my sins.
Way to go Ryan! 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼
Going ALL IN!
I learned that there is a difference in heart heaviness when confessing specific sin rather than general sin. Confessing that you sinned still leaves a heaviness because you’re still trying to hide it by not saying it. But when you are specific about what you did and how you want to be different, the yoke is easy and the burden is light.
I learned how forgiving God is. Gave him my everything today, heart, mind soul. Felt like the Prodigal Son. Felt Gods acceptance & love. Lord, more of you- less of me.
I learned that reflecting over the last 24 hours that I can come up with a lot of things that I did that were not super cool.
I realize that the one I have wrong the most is the one who loves me.… Jesus
That I need to let things go
If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I learned just how selfish I can be.
Less fear, more peace about that situation that I needed to confess about.
Praying that you will have LESS FEAR!👊🏼👊🏼
Using the who, what, why, how different outline helped me specifically identify my sin, confess, and repent of it and resolve to do better with the help of the Holy Spirit. As I was praying out loud it enabled me to reflect deeper and get to the root of the problem. Thanks.
#BOOM 💪🏼
I learned that confession helps release me from captivity to sin
I learned that by being specific and having a plan related to my confession that it makes it easier to make changes and truly repent.
Be up front and talk about it. The the other person would understand.
God put on my heart a situation that I feel is not right and I have said and emailed things to several people. I realized I was being a whiner and not the change. I realized that by thinking of confessions I needed to confess that
I learned that mistakes don’t make the man, past is the past and I can move forward, forgiven in Christ, and remember to not make the same mistakes again!
Excellent idea ya have here! Truly brings one to a humbling moment before God.
I need to trust more in God and come closer to knowing that he is in charge of my life. That all things will work out through him if it is in line with his will and purpose.
Love it James! 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼
The fear of confession, I think, always carries with it the perception of God’s displeasure. (At least in my mind.) But I know that HE knows… and it’s so much better to just willingly lay it all out of the table, and receive his encouragement and comfort… and help!
I Don’t Think I Learned As Much As I Remembered that Jesus told me to turn the other cheek when I have been wrongfully attacked in any manner. I need to sit and reflect rather on what I may have done to provoke it in the first place.
Freeing
Today I learned that I should ask myself more questions about the sin I commit. Like, why I committed the sin and how would I would like to be different. It’s a different and fresh perspective.
Praying for wisdom and understanding
JK, we are praying for you here 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼
Confession helps clear the the mind to be better next time!
The current culture permeating our nation makes it fearful for one to stand-up for ones believes.
I actually learned 4 things. That I haven’t done this formula for several people but especially the one who I should have, my wife. She deserved me to give her that confession. I did some of it but not all. We have a great marriage now but I gave her my how!
It takes trust to confess and if you can trust God your in the wrong place. Open up to him and he will open the doors for you. Amen
There is an old saying that “confession is good for the soul” and that is absolutely true. It’s like an oil change for your vehicle. Cleans out all the gunk!
I learned that confessing your wrongs is hard. I am a prideful person and I do not like to admit when I have done something wrong. I know if I want to grow and change, I must let pride go.
Great work Carlton 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼
I learned that confessing out loud made me focus in on my actions and asking God to help me change and grow.
Greg, I agree. ⚡️⚡️ Focus helps the process 👊🏼
It better to be 100 percent open about something, than beat around the bush. Don’t do it again, God help me.
Learning: how often my “why” has to do with establishing my own worth or value rather than God, so I am tempted to establish that by withholding from or diminishing others
Proud of you Ben
Lannes
Confessing out loud and using the format Vince suggested helps uncover the reason/motivation for what you did wrong.
Good point Lannes!⚡️⚡️⚡️
It feels good to look back and confess this way.
Proof read mike. (Can’t)
I’ve not been able to post each day and doing the activities each day has taught me that apathy is a silent killer. Praying out loud affirms your words in prayer and allows you to hear your heart expressed, instead of your thoughts. I’m looking forward to tomorrow! Santiago
I learned that I need to slow down in my response to people’s response to me. Just to think about what to say and with the right tone of voice.
I feels good to speak the offense out load!!
Today had me thinking and confessing of actions I did while not realizing it. Unintentional times I’ve hurt my wife’s feelings and it makes me feel terrible. I need be different and always strongly consider how my actions disobey God and the people around me.
I have opportunities to make better choices in the future, no matter what’s happened in the past. I can’t make any meaningful improvement without God, but he wants to help me in my growth
I learned that confessing my sins helps me be more aware of it throughout the day or until next time I pray.
My time of confession I learned that God does not desire to punish us, but remove what may come in the way of our relationship.
I learned that God wants me to be free from sin so I can be closer to Him.
Adding the Why to confessing a wrong to a person really makes me think about how selfish I can be…..
Dittos to what James Delgado shared – self guilt and not forgiving yourself when you’ve confessed your sin before the Father and He remembers your sin no more….but you do through Satan reminding you of it all the time! I’ve learned over time that he speaks to me in my own voice and I now know what it sounds like – condemnation; which there is none for those in Christ! I need to walk in His victory of sin!
As I pray and reflect on my shortcomings, I’m reminded how much I need Jesus to renew me each day with His love, peace, and joy, so I can do to others as I would have them do unto me. Confession brings healing.
I still have problems with anger towards those closest to me. I get easily frustrated and pride and ego still take over before humility sets in. By then it’s usually to late. It’s as if by brain shuts off in the heat of the moment. That leads to shame and it spirals down.
Confessing helps me to take the weight off and give it to God. Not confessing right away or at all makes me feel like I am in control and can affect situations myself. In actuality, God is in control and the confession helps to remind me.
Confessing passed sins and people that I’ve hurt or wronged isn’t easy but somehow gives new life to where I am and where I’m going with Christ.
NEW LIFE ——— love it
That’s right!!!! Way to go.
God already knows my sins – releasing them verbally to him is powerful.
Confession should be a part of our prayers.
Yes it should!
I have learned God forgives our sinful nature.
I have learned that it is important to be reminded of things Gods wants you to share with him. I think we get so busy and comfortable that we forget what Gos wants us to pray. Thank you for the reminders.
Best you can see in the morning !
I learned by confessing my faults before God help me to released the anxiety and burdens I might be holding onto.
One thing that I have learned is that I should not fear the lord when confessing but to allow his love for me bring me peace
I learned that it may be a little bit harder to confess while praying out loud but it felt more confirmed and direct, rather than trying to work around it while praying inside.
Today I learned that it’s hard to confess. This comes from my reliance on self versus God. I don’t want to justify actions that I know to be wrong. I want to love others well and put others first before my self. This will take time but I’m relying on God to work on me and soften my heart.
Pulling the plank out of your own eyes is hard, but letting others know about the plank in their eye is easy.
Actions
Speaking my sins out loud takes away the deceitfulness that was in my life. Telling the Father I let go of those sins and turn them to His Mercy! Praise God for a wonderful Savior who has set me free!
Learning to admit your wrong doings and confessing them to the Lord is something I need to do more often.
I learned that I need to reflect and ask God to change my heart when I do wrong to the people I love.
Taking the time to confess helped me reflect upon my own faults and with the Spirits help to understand how I can do better next time.
Confession – Thank God for His Grace. I don’t deserve it but He gives it anyway.
Sharing with God my mistakes (emotionally, mentally, physically or spiritually)
brings peace to my heart…knowing that I have learned something I do not want to repeat.
And now – I believe that I am forgiven and its my turn to forgive.
I have been selfish and in my marriage, I have thought of myself as most important. I cannot say that I learned this on my own. It took real listening to my wife and admitting that I have hurt her and then taking the time to understand how. It was so easy to think of myself first and put her wants and needs on the back burner. Lord, help me to consistently be aware of this and continually work to change this, amen.
I’ve learned that confession takes the weight and anxiety off of your shoulders and puts it into Gods hands. Ask for forgiveness, learn and process the hurts you’ve caused and the reasons behind it.
God cares and listens…and forgives..
Very challenging and freeing time to share with God and confess what He already knows
I feel better and stronger after I confess
When we act selfishly we not only wrong others but also hurt ourself.
my wife believes that i treat complete strangers better than her. i dont see it that way. i am probably wrong. i think i treat people the same way. i know i need to put forth more effort toward how i interact with my wife. i pray about it every day.
Confessing relieves all the tension and the stress of holding it in. Although, it needs to be a heartfelt and passionate confession. I believe at times I can confess because it’s the right thing to do…but my heart is that exactly in the right place!
I battle be quick to judge others,but just as quickly I remember I do not know the challenges they are facing, it then changes my thoughts.
To be specific in my confession
First, praying out loud has really helped me pray in a focused manner. Second, today I realized, I can pray confidently to God because He forgives. I knew this, but as I began to pray, this conviction came upon me and there was peace in my confession. Praise God!
What’s wild to me is what he said, “to confess is to agree with God.” He knows the offense we have committed, but we have to come into accord with Him that we messed up.
I believe sometimes the hardest thing is coming to God because of shame. But knowing He has already agreed to forgive… wow. Think about the confidence a child gains when they know their daddy will hear them out, and if he punishes it will be in an atmosphere of love. How much more confidently will that child approach their father.
I have had a hard time forgiving myself for a mistake I made in the past and speaking out loud takes a bit of weight from shoulders. I think verbalizing the failure and letting God know I recognize the failure also allows for me to start moving forward.
My biggest wrong was the person whom I had a descructive relationship with, my Ex-Wife whom now I’m greatful to be parted with. When we got married, things went well and I ended up with amazing children of whom I did what I could to maintain the Love with that woman. Myself especially went the other direction due to sin and wrong decisions, parting ways with someone whom I devoted so much to at that time of my life. Fortunately I have a successful family all-around and I would like to be different by being able to maintain wiser choices with what I do I the future for improving on relationships within my circle of Love for awsome people whom are just fantastic. Allowing me to become a better person as I grow in many ways.
To be stronger and fight off temptation! James 4:7
I am thankful for this awareness of vocal prayer. It is better. I was able to ask forgiveness from my brother’s and parents for selfish actions of 30 years ago. Further, i have an ex- wife who i need to talk to the Lord again about
I learned that money has become too important if my life and I need to change that starting with
providing for my wife’s needs.
I’ve learned that I’m selfish with my time which shows a lack of respect for others. Even though what they have to say is not crucial the time spent listening is.
As I confess everyday I feel a load off my chest.Today was no different.
It feels good to talk freely to God about my shortcomings and ask God to help me make progress and improve.
God really spoke to me about attitude and how to approach a situation lightly and with love from this prayer time!
I learned that when you get specific with what you are confessing it gets real personal, but it needs to be personal when talking to God. He already knows what we are thinking and what we have done, but I think He likes that we come to Him and that we are honest with Him.
I’ve learned that praying out loud and confessing my sins make them feel more real and also can feel God’s love and guidance in conquering those sins. I can’t do that by myself but With God’s help I can.
I can let my sin & shame drive me away from God or I can run to Him and confess my sin & bring my shame to Him. The two bring drastically different results.
I learned today that there is freedom in confession. It feels as though my spirit is lighter and the judgment I felt prior to confession is gone.
I learned that confession is agreement with God.
Stop being judgmental towards others,that on judgement day ,jesus is the only one that will judge people, including me.
Convicted
Confession relieves your anxiety and your issues have immediately less power over you. God has conquered help man conquer much and our difficulties are no match for Him
Confessing out loud is difficult. There is a lot of shame involved when I do this. However, confessing puts something dark into the light, taking the power of sin away. I have experienced significant shame and regret in my life and even that I need to confess to my Lord
I confess to God at the end of the day. And it comes easy when throughout the day I have been quick to recognize when I do something wrong. I apologize in the moment. Then confession at night is easy. It only gets hard, when I live selfishly and fail to admit things thru the day.
good morning guys!
I confess to God at the end of the day. And it comes easy when throughout the day I have been quick to recognize when I do something wrong. I apologize in the moment. Then confession at night is easy. It only gets hard, when I live selfishly and fail to admit things thru the day.
Confession refreshes my soul.
My heart and mind are clear and at peace.
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Experiencing God’s forgiveness has a sense of refreshment. Forgiveness from God, something only christians experience.
I still have A LOT of work to do on softening my heart towards the less than lovable people that are going to be in my life hopefully for a very long time to come, my sister in law and mother in law, because I have been known to revel in their defeats and at times respond to their anger and poisonous words in kind. I have made MASSIVE progress in this, but I know that without God as my focus, I won’t CONTINUE to make progress in my attitude towards them.
Keep functioning ,remarkable job!
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I’m not sure why but this weblog is loading extremely slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end? I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.
I learned that I need to focus on more on making an effort to spread the gospel to others.
I learned that by confessing my sins to God, He renews my heart and allows me to start fresh in my walk with Him and with others in my life…even those who I have wronged along the way. Thank you Lord for being the God of second chances!
It sure is easy it is to get distracted in five minutes. May the Lord bless us all who try to give him our attention and knock on his door for a conversation.
God wants us to confess even the little things
It was really hard to confess for 5 minutes straight, but in reality I probably missed many sins and should be able to do it easily for 5 minutes.
Confession is therapeutic
Evidently I’m far more comfortable in confessing how I’ve sinned, than I am in confessing why I’ve sinned.
It is so “freeing” to confess my sins to God. Even though he already knows my sins, He fully forgives me. Thus freeing me from sin’s power to hold me down.
The old saying goes, “Confession is good for the soul.” Boy, is it ever!
It had been a quiet, positive couple of days for me relationship-wise (I was catching this one up yesterday). However, I had to confess a continued transgression against my own body (and therefore God, since it’s His temple)—overeating. That was a very odd confession to make out loud.
While it was uncomfortable, it was also very freeing. And it set off a great day of good eating choices. I’ll be revisiting this discipline often.
Confessing what I’ve done wrong helps me to let go and let god take my sin instead of me trying to carry it.
I want to be responsive.
Today’s lesson helped me to reveal that I need to include the Lord in this process more and more. In the last 24 hours it has been my lack of patience with others that has caused me to become upset, sometimes nothing they have done, but how I view them not doing it my way. Thanks for your help Lord
I’ve been confessing my sins in prayer every time I spend with God sins I began my spiritual journey 8 weeks ago. I’ve learned to reflect and stay conscious of my feelings in every moment. I am always busy with something and I’ve noticed that interruptions doesn’t bother me anymore. I’ve also noticed that when I keep asking for forgiveness for something I already ask forgiveness for makes my prayer time less productive. Am I right? Or should I keep repenting for the same sins?
I learned that confessing, especially out loud for me is very hard. At the same time it helped me to really embrace forgiveness as well as see the impact of the sin I was confessing.
It made me think about where I fell short over the last 24 hours and what I need to do better.
This really made me feel like a burden had been lifted. My guilt was gone.
The need to be transparent.
There is joy and freedom in confession
One thing I learned during my time of confession is that some times you don’t realize the weight a certain event or subject can have on you until you confess and feel the weight lifting.
Confessing to God about my failures and weaknesses grants me freedom from the things I try to control.
My prayer time highlighted that I still have lots of work to do in how I disagree with others. I have been working on it, working on giving other space instead of shutting them down when they are not correct. This is the first time that I really concentrated and asked God for wisdom to recognize when I am about to dismiss others and help me to see them and have their space so that we may come together.
The who, what, why, and how was definitely eye opening. I realized my confession time has been about the what I did. Looking at the who, why, and how gave a whole new perspective on what I was not confessing. Doing it out loud kinda stopped the squirrels and I was amazed at the things that kept popping up that I needed to confess.
I learned that I often confess to God what I have done but I don’t talk to Him about who I have wronged. Sometimes directly to their face but many times just in my own heart.
One thing I prayed while confessing past sins against others is that while praying, we may anticipate possible future sins, and steer away from them. For example, we may foresee a time of speaking rashly and decide ahead of time to instead keep quiet.
Thank you my brothers for sharing your thoughts.
It appears we are all in the same place. In concentrating on specifics, I am finding more of how I can change to help me be more Christ like.
Thanks again
Blessings
Ted
My heart and mind are humbled through confession. It allows God to move in and replace my selfishness.
My sin affects many people. I need to take simple, practical steps of repentance!
All wrongs begin with a failure to follow God’s will. He needs to be asked for forgiveness first. That prepares our hearts to ask forgiveness from others and to receive that forgiveness.
I learned that if I say it out loud in prayer, it made me act upon my confession. I made a small change today that will hopefully be prosperous and long lasting. Not sure this would have happened had it not been for my prayer.
I learned that specifically answering the questions (who, what, why, and how)regarding my act of sin leads me to take full ownership of it
Confession many times leads to another action. But, sometimes it doesn’t. But it always leads to God working in you.
Yesterday, Brandy and I had a tough argument at the breakfast table. What was rough was that we kept going even with the kids present. Our tone and content were sharp and I know it hurt the kids as well as each other. Asking for forgiveness today for my tone and combativeness. For not taking the conversation away from the kids. Praying today to be more interested in being reconciled than for justice. To be more secure–more willing to be wronged and to love my wife, rather than seeking to be right.
This is day 4 for me I am behind. In this world it can be easy at times to wrong someone and feel justified by it because you were wronged by them. The truth is Christ forgave us for all kinds of sin so it is important to forgive those who sinned against us and show humility. That at times is easier to say then do. I need to go to God for strength and forgiveness before I act.
I’ve been trying to work confession into prayer for quite sometime now, almost always starting with the confession. Most of the time it’s general, knowing that I have certainly sinned in my heart too many times to count, but sometimes it’s specific. I think it’s important to go to God with a contrite heart and knowing that His grace abounds, and it is also important to recognize the areas in which I can improve my “walk” with Him. I don’t think I wrong too many people personally, but I know that I have wild and wicked thoughts driving around and have not-very-Christian attitudes toward random strangers who either don’t understand the etiquette of he road, or who don’t understand that those etiquette rules don’t apply to me when I’m running late 😉 . Confession helps me to see God’s love and forgiveness, which is a polite reminder to act the same, to approach others with kindness and forgiveness. I think Jesus taught his disciples a prayer along those lines…
naming the who, what & why out-loud makes the confession feel more authentic. It also brought to mind other things to confess that I wasn’t aware of before. Then I could make a clear plan of attack.
Reading the other comments encourages my soul. Thanks men.
I found today that confessing helps me get to the root of the matter, which is often different than what I thought at first. This is evidence of the Lord speaking to me through this prayer time.
Hope you don’t mind me joining the FFGers (not sure what that is…).
I agree with Tim, confessing is HARD! The goofy thing for me is that it is easier to confess to God than to others. I know with God that I am forgiven after (and even before) I have confessed the Who, What, Why, and How. With others, they may not be as forgiving. Recently, I had to confess to someone, and I really did not want to based on my fear of how it was going to be received. However, again, as Tim and Vince mentioned, it was a HUGE healing. I am especially thankful for opportunity for the “how.”
Was reflecting and praying about my frustration with the kids yesterday. Between them fighting and not being able to find one at a basketball game, I was angry. Realized that I feel this way partially because I feel disrespected and not in control. I need to pause in these moments and seek guidance, wisdom and peace.
J.T.
I think the biggest thing was acknowledging that I alone am rarely enough to prevent my selfishness from causing me to hurt others. I have to be aware of this and ask that God help to partner with me through the Holy Spirit and others around me to have the discipline to be the man that He created me to be.
I struggled a bit with this one, as I could not think of a sin that I committed in the past 24 hours. Then, I thought of the verse that tells us that if we say that we have not sinned that his word is not in us (1 John 1:10). So, this morning (a day late), I prayed that God would search me, and rid me of any sin that I have committed unknowingly, and that He would help me to grow so that I will see and avoid those sinful situations that I do not see.
Confession is liberating
Through the Grace of God I have been successful in developing a daily prayer regimen that includes honest assessment of my behavior, confession, true repentance and sincere forgiveness. This literally set me free. Don’t hide from my sin, don’t bear hurt or anger regarding others. This took me some 2-3 years to establish, but since then I see myself and especially others with compassion rather than judgement. Don the blame others for my sin, and my identity is NOT that of a sinner saved by grace. Instead I see myself as a saint who occasionally sins & who must quickly take restorative action when sin enters in.
Through the Grace of God I have been successful in developing a daily prayer regimen that includes honest assessment of my behavior, confession, true repentance and sincere forgiveness. This literally set me free. Don’t hide from my son, don’t bear hurt or anger regarding others. This took me some 2-3 years to establish, but since then I see myself and especially others with compassion rather than judgement. Don the blame others for my sin, and my identity is NOT that of a sinner saved by grace. Instead I see myself as a saint who occasionally sins & who must quickly take restorative action when sin enters in.
I have confessed so many times to God for my my Actions over the years and how I have hurt my Wife in the past over decisions I have made in the past.
I am first of all relearning the joy and honesty that praying outloud creates in my being. This morning I was reminded again of the deep selfishness that resides in my heart and how that spills over sadly into my relationships. So thankful that the ultimate example of selfless love is also the provider of ultimate power and love to overcome my selfish nature. Thank you Jesus!
To focus (in regards to sin) not on self-discipline to bring about change…but on the disciple(r), Jesus to bring about change.
Confession about a specific instance taught me how important it is to slow down more and think things through.
Dan M – Confession a) feels liberating b) takes silent reflection c) reaffirms my need / dependence on God for grace / forgiveness / mercy
I was reminded through this that living in the light and confessing our sins is an act of obedience to God.
Not sure what I learned from this time, but I do like the way the questions can make you think a little deeper. Why you did it? How would you like it to be different?
I learned that it got it off my chest and God love’s authenticity – he knows anyway… but being in agreement with God has to be pleasing to him and liberating for us.
Taking a moment to stop and talk about why I sinned is eye opening. Having to Stop and think through why I made those choices was helpful to understand my actions better.
Confession helped me to realize how disconnected from God I had become…spiritually speaking.
Glad to be Back in Game!
Speaking about my sins gave them more weight on me to truly change from who I am to who I should be in that situation.
I confess that I am writing this a day late, too many squirrels, but that upon reflection, God is the most important priority in my life. Moving forward, I rather enjoy praying out loud to Him because it makes the prayers seem real more than just reciting them in my head. I have many prayers I pray on a daily basis, but before starting this year and these 35 day challenges, I did not pray them out loud, now I pray them ALL out loud and it has made them more personal than just rote recitation.
I don’t know that I can really say this as a new thing I learned, but that I am powerless on my own to make the changes that are needed. I can only change by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in me to guide me.
Need for self-reflection and the release of the burden after confession and freedom to pursue the right relationships with the people I wronged
4 steps my pastor shared awhile back regarding prayer and living a prayerful lifestyle are 1. Yield (to the Holy Spirit), 2. Confess (your sins), 3. Repent, 4. Repeat (Daily). I think that is good practice to add to my daily prayer time.
That after confessing out loud I feel relief and forgiveness
I realize that I seem to sin the same over and over again.
I’ve learned; There is no hiding in His Thrown Room.