“O LORD, God of heaven … I confess the sins we … have committed against you.” – Nehemiah 1:5-6
For the past few weeks the Father has been pressing us in The Sanctuary to take inventory of our own souls so that we can be pure vessels to be used by our Father. Sometimes it’s tempting to point to the shortcomings of others, but when we talk about repenting, we need to include ourselves. True repentance involves all of us—individuals and the Body of Christ.
Nehemiah was on a mission to help his people, and he knew he had to ask forgiveness for the people’s sins if the mission was going to succeed. Before praying for God’s guidance and protection, he asked for God’s forgiveness. He knew why God’s people had been sent into captivity. He understood why things were not going right after they had returned. There was unconfessed sin that had created a barrier between God and the people and had kept them from experiencing God’s blessings. But as Nehemiah prayed, he also included himself. The people’s sins were his sins. As a Body we all are interconnected and joined by the Spirit. You see he could have simply pointed his finger and blamed others. I am sure it was tempting to look back and list the sins of past generations. But, “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to YOUR ways.’” (Haggai 1:7). We are in an important time on our Father’s calendar, a time to diligently seek the face of our Father and to look thoughtfully at our ways so that we can truly experience a release from the barriers that have prevented us to truly live in the full measure that has been ordained for us.
God’s great faithfulness gives us the courage to face our sins and not just face it, but return to our loving Father so that we can experience real salvation, grace and mercy. To experience it, we need to confess.
Prayer
“O LORD, God of heaven,” we confess the sins we have committed against you. Please forgive us for Jesus’ sake and renew us to be your people. In your name we pray. Amen.
♦Contributed by: Pastor Yolanda Douthit♦