It is my privilege to pastor a church that prays when it
gathers to worship. Not there aren't a
lot of other churches that don't pray, because I am certain that they most
certainly do. But there are some things
about the way that our church prays when we gather that I want to share with others.
So this will be a short series about prayer and worship. In separate posts I will discuss prayers of confession,
prayers for healing, congregational prayer and miscellaneous prayer.
A prayer of confession is something we do nearly every time
we gather for worship. We include it
each Sunday. We include it on most other
occasions, including Easter and Christmas Eve.
Actually, I can’t think of a time since I've been here that confession hasn't
been a part of our worship.
Confession is an admission of our sin as we come into God's
presence. It is an intentional act where
we acknowledge, to God, that we have
failed to live in ways that are pleasing to Him and we seek His
forgiveness. It is as if we are saying,
"God, these are things that we have done, or thought, that we know are
offensive to you. They are dirt in our lives, in our hearts, and we can't remove them myself. Will you forgive us and make us clean
again?"
Our prayer of confession has three parts. First I say something about our sin and the need
to confess it, inviting everyone to take a few moments and silently confess to
God. Then we read aloud a prayer of
confession. Each week we have a different
prayer, so that each week we have a different way to think about our sin and
the way it offends God. And lastly, I
read from scripture words that are intended to provide the assurance of
forgiveness. There are verses from the
Old and New Testament, with a different passage each week, used to reinforce the
idea that while God's plan has always been that forgiveness comes through Jesus,
the promise of forgiveness is one that is found in many places in the Bible.
The objection to regular confession might be raised, saying
that Protestant Christians believe they have forgiveness of all of their sin in
Jesus. Forgiveness of all sin before they
came to faith and forgiveness of all sin they will commit while having that
faith. If that is true, that indeed all
the sins of a lifetime, including those years not yet lived, are forgiven, then
why go through the act of confessing and receiving assurance over and over? Isn’t that kind of a downer? Shouldn't life as a Christian be joyful?
To which I reply that I believe that confession is healthy and that its
regular practice leads to a more joyful life.
In confessing we are consciously aware that God is God and that we are
not. Its practice establishes a good
place for us to start each day, so that we begin by turning toward God instead of running
headlong down the path of unrestrained sin.
Herman Bavinck wrote this about sin, confession and forgiveness: "Sin brings with it, especially in the case
of believers, a sense of guilt, pain, regret, alienation from God, remorse, and
so forth. It takes away ones tranquility
of conscience, the boldness and assurance of faith. That is unavoidable. The nature of sin is such that it necessarily
brings with it a sense of guilt and liability to punishment."[1]
Then he adds: "Confession
is not a condition for forgiveness, but those who truly know their sin
naturally confess it and in the face of it feel all the greater need for the
consolation of forgiveness. For believers,
prayer for forgiveness remains a daily necessity. But in that case they do not pray in doubt
and despair, they do not pray as though they are no longer children of God and
again face eternal damnation; they pray from within the faith as children to
the Father who is in heaven."[2]
He concludes: "Needed,
after our falling into sin, is self-humiliation, confession, the prayer for
forgiveness, in order that this faith may again revive and the Spirit of God may
again clearly and forcefully bear witness with our spirit that we are children
of God."[3]
Sin, seen from our point-of-view, alienates us from
God. Confession is a good gift to us
from God, so that our conscience can be cleared, so that we can be reassured of
our place as His children, and that as His children we can live with joy.
Perhaps my favorite words of assurance are the ones we used yesterday,
from 1
John 1:9.
"If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Scripture quotations
are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by
Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
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