Confession as an Art
“If forgiveness is good, fellowship is better; if we have experienced God’s heavy hand, we should appreciate and seek His gentler touch.” – Derek Kidner
“It is only God’s love which can empty the guilty, troubled heart of its sin and fill it with song.”- Stephen J. Lennex
“Keeping quiet is not a mark of OT piety. OT piety makes a noise, either in lament and prayer or in thanksgiving and praise. There is something suspicious about a person keeping quiet.”- John Goldingay
Confession is a bit of an odd rhythm to most of us, unless we grew up Catholic. It is sad that this critical aspect of our faith feels foreign. It is our work to reclaim it and make it a regular part of our followership of Jesus. If the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray is any indicator, it is His expectation that we would need confession often (as much as we would need bread). Without confession, one of two very unhelpful realities will set in and rob us of much of what Jesus intended in our rescue. On the one hand, without confession, we run the risk of becoming lax about sin. The problem of course is that God is not lax about sin. That coupled with the reality of sin’s destructive power in our lives and in the lives of those around us set up a really bad situation. The other unhelpful reality that can set in without confession is a spiritual pride that sets us up to be great Pharisees and really lousy followers of Jesus. (see Luke 18:9-14) What’s left for us then is to avoid these ditches and get on down the road of confession. Here are some resources to help you:
Songs:
Create in Me a Clean Heart (traditional)
Create in Me (Rend Collective)
Prayers: Often we are left without the ‘right’ words for confession.
Psalm 51 is a fabulous Psalm to pray through on this topic.
There are three recorded prayers of confession here on the HLAC website. They are from a collection of Puritan prayers entitled, The Valley of Vision that I would recommend to you. Fair warning, they are old school English and will probably have you looking up some words.
Journal: Keep a prayer journal for confessions. Make it private and as honest and real as you dare. God knows each of your sins, no matter how dark, private or concealed it might be. Getting it out to Him allows forgiveness and restoration of fellowship.
Buddy Up: It might be helpful (and at times critical) to make your confession not just to God but also to another human being. If you have more questions about this practice, see James 5:16. You can also find a sermon which includes my thoughts on this right here. (scroll down to the final message)
Whatever of these (or something else) works, lean in. You and I need confession. You will know you are the right track when what begins in tears and contrition ends in joy and restored relationship with God.
“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” – Psalm 32:1-2, NLT