We must realize, acknowledge, and confess our sins. Read here about why we can pray over our sins with boldness.
by Rev. Werner Brotherton
Sometimes one of the most difficult things we can do is to acknowledge that we have made a mistake. In marriage it is often needed that you admit that you have done something wrong. A lot of the time it is the beginning of the road to understanding. That’s how it is with the Lord’s Prayer when we ask for forgiveness. We must firstly realize, acknowledge, and then confess that we have sinned.
The sin of David
In 2 Samuel 11 we read that David sinned by laying with Bathsheba. After that he also had her husband Uriah killed. The Lord sends his prophet Nathan to speak to David and make him realize that he has sinned. Psalm 51 is a confession of this sin, and a call for forgiveness from the Lord.
Read Psalm 51 and 2 Samuel 12 for more background.
What is forgiveness?
The word for forgiveness in Hebrew means to forget, or to not count someone’s sin against him. What we therefore do when we ask for forgiveness is that we ask the Lord that He will forget our sin. In Psalm 103 we learn that the Lord removes our sins so far from us as the west is from the east (Psalm 103:12). Feel free to read the entire Psalm 103 and see the wonder of the Lord’s great forgiveness.
Asking for forgiveness in prayer
What Psalm 51 teaches us is that we must realize our sin and confess it to the Lord. It is important that we know what we are asking forgiveness for, from Whom we ask it, and on which grounds:
- We must call on the one true God as He reveals himself in his Word.
- We must properly and thoroughly know our distress and misery so that we can be humbled before God’s majesty.
- We have the firm ground, all though we do not deserve it, that God wants to answer our prayer for the sake of Christ, just as He promised us in his Word.
The confidence to pray over our sins
Prayer should be the most important part of a believer’s life. It is important that we learn to pray, and if we do not know what to pray, we can pray the Psalms. The Psalms is also known as the prayer book of Christ; we can just look at how much He prayed the Psalms.
It is sometimes very intimidating for us to pray, especially to acknowledge that we have sinned, but in Christ we have confidence that our prayers will be answered.
- In Romans 8 we learn that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He purifies our prayers. It means that our prayers look different than how we pray them here, they are purified prayers.
- Our boldness goes even further. The book of Hebrews teaches us that Jesus is our high priest who intercedes for us with the Father. Through his mediation He brings our prayers before the Father.
The Holy Spirit therefore purifies our prayers and Jesus Christ brings them before the Father. It awakens in us a great confidence in the Lord!
What if I forget to pray for a sin?
Does it mean that some of my sins stay unforgiven? No! Mercifully not. May we never think so little of Christ’s works. Our prayers do not determine if we are saved or not.
Look at the murderer hanging next to our Lord Jesus on the cross in Luke 22:33–49. He did not pray. He only asked for Christ to think of him in Paradise. And yet our Lord Jesus says that he will be with him in Paradise. He realized who Jesus was and by asking Jesus to think of him, he is saved. It is also a form of confession.
Why do we ask for forgiveness?
We ask for forgiveness because we are dependent on the Lord, and He wants us to realize that. We must also realize how great our sin is, so that we know how urgently we need salvation.
Prayer is part of our life of gratitude. And in gratitude for Christ’s works, we confess our sins before the Lord and ask that the Lord will carry us in Christ. We may ask that he does not make us bear our sin, but rather bear Christ’s works.
