Last week, Hubs and I were reading a morning devotional about confession. Just the word "confession" is enough to make my stomach churn. Confessing my sins to God, after all, means taking a bit of time to poke around my heart and recognize the sin that is lurking there. Still, only by confessing my sin and asking God for His forgiveness can I receive that forgiveness and know the joy of an unburdened soul.
The author of the morning devotional suggested that taking some time to examine our hearts and to confess our sins to God in prayer is an appropriate way to approach the Christmas season. Interestingly, when John the Baptist went out to "prepare the way of the Lord", He did so by calling people to repentence (turning from sin).As we go into the Christmas season, let's take a moment today to sit with God. Ask Him to show you if there is anything in your heart you need to confess. Then confess it, ask for His forgiveness, and receive it. He will forgive you! By confessing our sins, we are "preparing the way" for God to work in our lives. Why not make some room in your heart today? Let's approach the season together with unburdened hearts that have prepared a way for Him.
5 comments:
I was raised Catholic, so "confession" has been a powerful word in my world since I can remember. I have always claimed to be the worst Catholic in the world since I claim the religion but do not follow all that is expected.
I do not go to confession. It more common now to confess your sins directly to a priest face to face and not in "confessionals." It is not so anonymous anymore. I do not care for this. I confess in my mind to God everyday. I live my life with a conscience and I believe God and I have a strong understanding.
But I still claim to be Catholic...but I never give the impression that I am a good one.
I like your idea of taking room in your heart and confessing to God today because that is what I have been doing for a long time now.
starshine, what another perfect reminder for me. sometimes i feel like i've become so self-centered since i found out about my endometriosis this year--everythings memememe, trying to get healthier, less pain, etc... but i know that is a sin, maybe one more of omission, because i am neglecting others (and God!) on my quest for "myself."
by the way, would you please pray for me? i have been using my prayer journal, but i havent spent much time actually talking to God. i dont know why; maybe i just think i'm not doing it right or i feel i need to block out a huge amount of time, so i keep putting it off. i want to get to the point where i can be aware enough to pray all throughout the day, while i do things around the house, eat, etc...
i appreciate you and what you share with the blogosphere!! (((hugs)))
I Hate Pink - Hi! Glad to have you stop by! Confessing face to face with a priest would make me so nervous! I'm with you...confessing directly to God in prayer is what I am most comfortable with. I recently read a book called "Girl Meets God" by Lauren Winner, and she confesses to an Episcopal priest once every two weeks as a spiritual practice, and she finds it to be an important (but not easy) part of her spiritual life.
Anonymous at 1:27pm - I will pray for your prayer time with God. Don't worry about setting aside a ton of time to pray. Maybe you could start with just a few minutes (3-5 mins) each day to pray. When I write in my prayer journal, instead of Dear Diary, I write it as a "Dear God" and then just let my thoughts/prayers flow. I hope you don't mind these suggestions. You are in my prayers today!
This is a good reminder to get quiet and to be still and to listen. Thanks, Starshine.
Starshine, I am not religious in any traditional way, but I am really enjoying these posts and this prayer journey you are taking us on.
Post a Comment