2 Chronicles 14-16 / Romans 9:1-24 / Psalm 19 / Proverbs 20:1
Prayers. I’ve been saying my prayers since I was a little girl, probably before I have a memory of it. My momma was saved in her teens, though she didn’t really start a Christian path until later in life. My daddy was saved when I was maybe 4 or 5 so, I’m not sure when the prayers started.
Prayers are something that can seem intangible. I’m talking to a God I can’t see. There are times I feel I’m talking to myself, although I know by faith there is a loving Creator who is listening on the other side. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Who remembers that prayer?
Lately I’ve been pondering prayer and conversations with God. We humans are so used to popping into a time of prayer with a list of our needs, fear, wants and desires. But how often do we ask God how He is or what’s on His heart? If we would ask, our questions would likely be answered; if not directly, indirectly.
As the Psalmist talked with God in chapter 19, he made a few requests of God in verses 12-13. How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.
There are times I’m painfully aware of my sins – against God, and against the people I love. I also have sins that I hide within my heart – usually unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, etc. There are times I’ve told myself that I just want to be angry for a bit and then I’ll move on. But do I? Do I move on? And what does it mean to move on? If I haven’t resolved the contrary feelings in my heart, I may have accidentally allowed an area of sin to form.
Maybe that’s what David was concerned about when he asked God to cleanse him from hidden faults. And what about those deliberate sins? Those are the ones we know better than to engage in – we know what we’re doing is grieving to Holy Spirit, but we assume because the sin is known only by ourselves, we can get away with it. Not so.
If I allow sin to remain, it gets bigger, deeper, and more involved over time. When our kids were little, and now that we are grandparents, we used to watch Veggie Tales. There is one episode titled Larry-Boy! And the Fib from Outer Space! In this episode Junior Asparagus lies to his dad about an item that he broke in his house, blaming it on a sibling.
As Junior continues to tell lie after lie to cover up the original lie, the Fib gets larger and larger until it’s a booming and scary figure that is terrifying to Junior. What’s interesting is that Junior is immediately aware, just after the initial lie, that the Fib has grown, but he ignores the warning in his heart and continues along the path of deceit.
Finally, Junior realizes the situation has gotten out of control and he confesses to the lie and the cover-up of the lie. When he does the Fib reduces little by little back to its original size. It takes a lot of courage and tenacity to admit to our faults and sin, but as we do God can bring healing and restoration into our lives.
The pain of the sin is then able to give way to the relief of the freedom that follows. Scripture tells us in James 5:16 NRSV Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
It’s humbling to admit our sins to one another, but when we do, relief pours into our hearts. We’re also made aware that all of us face these same temptations to sin. No one is above sin and temptation, so if we would love one another enough to stand together in these times of confession, the whole community around us will be strengthened.
Say your prayers, be humble, and wait for God to heal your soul and cleanse your conscience. I promise the pain of confession and repentance are all worth it!
