Why is confession important to the Christian walk of faith? God doesn’t need us to confess, He is omniscient and therefore knows all about our sins. Confession is an act of contrition that brings Christians like me and you face to face with our sin.
The healing that James speaks of in James 5:16 is not a disease that a doctor can treat, but it is a disease that affects every human being. You cannot live in this world without being a victim of the evil one and sin. The depths of sin’s reach has no bounds if you have flesh. Thank God He gave us His Son and lets us repent and confess.
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Is The ACTS Prayer Model Biblical?
The ACTS method of prayer is based on the Lord’s prayer that Christ Jesus provided the disciples in Matthew 6:9-13. The acronym ACTS stands for Adoration (verse 9), Confession (verse 10), Thanksgiving (verse 11), and Supplication (verses 12-13).
As mentioned in the post A Simple Way To Pray Using The ACTS Prayer Acronym and Adoration From The ACTS Prayer Acronym: A Powerful Step 1, the ACTS prayer model is Biblical. It is the foundation of The Lord’s Prayer Christ Jesus prays in Matthew 6:9-13. For more on the beginning elements of the acts prayer method, visit these two posts.
A.C.T.S. Acronym: Confession Breakdown
In prior blog posts, we have covered what the ACTS prayer acronym is and we did a deep dive on Adoration. Now we are going to focus on what confession means to the Christian.
Why is it important to confess our sins? Why is confession of sin in our prayers to the Father good for us and is that the reason Jesus instructs us to do so?
Confession in a Christian’s life is repenting of one’s sin by acknowledging with sincere regret or remorse about the sin to the Father. What can we expect from the Father when we confess? Forgiveness! The Bible says in I 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.”
I thank God for His forgiveness and cleansing from unrighteousness without them and Jesus’ death and resurrection, we would be stuck in sin.
Glorifying God Even In Confession
Aren’t Christians just required to worship Christ on Sundays since God rested on the Sabbath? Aren’t Christians to work hard and go, go, go the other six days and just focus on Jesus in Sunday School and Sunday morning service? Absolutely not!!
We are called to actively worship the Lord and Savior in our actions, thoughts, and in all things. Paul says in I Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” Therefore, if we are to do everything for God’s glory then we are to even confess for His glory. We bring Him glory by trusting that He will forgive the sins we confess and having faith that the will of God will be done.
Recently, I had a moment of doubt and unbelief and shortly thereafter my husband and I received a group text from our pastor. The Lord was already guiding him to provide what I needed before we knew I needed it. This text prompted me to go to the throne of grace, get in God’s presence, and confess my sin.
Why Is the Confession Part Of the Prayer Important?
For the longest time, I struggled to pray. I felt like I was the only one who found it difficult. I was NOT the only one. Doesn’t it often feel like you’re the only one though when you’re in the midst of the battle? Here you are struggling to claw your way out, to get a breath, before you get yanked back into the center of the fight with the devil and his minions. You can’t see the others fighting their battles for the cloud of misery and turmoil surrounding you.
Do you know Who else you can’t see? Your Savior! Jesus is right there with you ready to intercede for you if you would just look to the right hand of the Father. How do you ask Him to intercede? You PRAY! Confess those sins that the devil slings at you in that battle so he can no longer use them as weapons against you. Confession removes the ammunition from those weapons of mass destruction, allowing Jesus to prove He is faithful to forgive.
Where Can You Get Help For Your Prayer Life?
When I finally admitted to myself that I was struggling to pray I began to search scripture and listen to podcasts focusing on prayer. While trying to figure out how to create something to help myself pray God gave me the thought that He already gave us a guide, and it’s the Lord’s prayer.
As I was creating a guide to help me learn to pray better I kept getting ideas about other things I could make to help myself. The more I created the more I was being urged to share this wonderful gift that God was using me to create. Journey: A Guide To Prayer and Planning is the help you need to pray!
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t know who or what to pray about first then Journey is for you too. It is my guide for creating prayers when I can’t focus because of worldly chaos. However, if you’re not a planner and just need a little help understanding the acronym, then the ACTS Prayer Guide is for you!
Reading our Bibles diligently and being in constant prayer helps our personal relationships with the Father. I’ve found that the more I study and learn the more I want to learn. As Christians we are called to be in the world (spreading the gospel to those unsaved) but not of the world (cavorting and doing ungodly things). The only way to do this is to let Jesus be our source of strength and the best way to revive our strength and do everything for His glory is to be in constant communion with Him.
According to the Oxford definition, communion is the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level; so essentially communion with Jesus is prayer! Join Him in prayer and know He is not distant or cold. By His Spirit, He is with you, and He will give you strength, especially in the toughest of times, Psalm 34:8.
Do you still have questions about confession? About prayer? Do you need to talk to someone about your walk with Christ or about being saved? If you do just click the contact button above and fill out the form or connect with us on socials @kraftykoncessions and we will respond as soon as we get the message.
