"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (NAS)

Bending down with rag in hand, I wiped the coffee spills off the kitchen floor. Then my eye caught the spills dribbled down the cupboard door. I'm surprised I haven't seen that before, I thought to myself as I continued to clean. Okay, I'll just spend some time on my knees on this kitchen floor. Wow, there's more dog hair down here than linoleum. And there's that ball the boys have been looking for.

I thought I had thoroughly cleaned the kitchen, but on my knees I could see many things I had never seen before. So it is in my prayer life. Whether I'm literally on my knees or sitting in my big chair as I usually do when I pray, I'm often amazed to see how my perspective changes in prayer.

A quiet time of humbling ourselves before the Lord will allow Him the time to reveal anything that doesn't please Him. Psalm 139:23, 24 offers us a model of a prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way."

When we see the dirt in our lives, we need to make sure we don't move to self-condemnation, but instead take the step God desires from us: confessing our sin to the Lord.

It's important to recognize that sin grieves our Holy Father, so much so that He sacrificed His precious Son for our sin. We need to call sin what it is; it's not a bad habit, a bad choice, or a mistake. Sin is sin, and its roots are rebellion and independence from God. By His death on a cross Jesus has already forgiven us, but confessing our sins is a way of acknowledging and remembering that we need a Savior.

By being honest with God about our sin, we discover a great treasure: He loves us just as we are, and at the same time He wants to transform our character to be like His.

Dear Lord, thank You, Jesus, for Your death on a cross. I never want to take that lightly. In a world where it's more acceptable to be tolerant, I want to remember that You are a holy God who does not tolerate sin. I am a sinner in constant need of Your grace, forgiveness, and love! Thank You for paying the price for my sins. I need You every minute of every day to empower me to be more like You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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Related Resources:

Visit Melanie’s blog What Matters Most

What a Wife Needs from Her Husband by Melanie Chitwood

Pierced By the Word: 31 Meditations for Your Soul by John Piper

Application Steps:

Print out this devotion, look up each Scripture in the devotion, and spend time quietly meditating on them.

If you're not sure you're a child of God, you are only a prayer away from assurance! Click on Do You Know Him? for guidance in praying.

Go to Melanie's blog, What Matters Most, where you'll find a link to worship music to help you turn your heart and mind toward God.

Reflections:

Do you take time to be quiet before the Lord? Can you take time right now to confess your sin?

Know that God loves you. He is not eager to condemn, but to forgive you.

Power Verses:

Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (NAS)

Romans 8:1 "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (NAS)

© 2010 by Melanie Chitwood. All rights reserved.