[Excerpt from unit on Confession, “Prayer Journal” Bible Study, self-published 2013]
Confession is a privilege, not a punishment.
Have you ever tried to pray while you’re holding something back from God? Sin kills the conversation! “It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.” Isaiah 59:2
What a relief that God has given us a way to reconnect with Him! We simply have to admit that we were wrong. We have to name the sin and reject it. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.” 1 John 1:9
But one of the nasty things about sin is that we don’t always recognize it. Sin slips into our everyday lives. It feels familiar. It’s easy to overlook. But it still cuts us off from God.
If we want to change old sinful patterns, we have to be brave enough to examine our lives. But how do we do that? Should we write down thousands of potential sins and try to repent from them? That would be discouraging and overwhelming. We have to take it in smaller chunks….
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Weekly Assignment from an Online Intensive Prayer Study:
Welcome! Your first video Bible Study is ready. I’ve created a 6-minute video for you on vimeo. Just click this link and type the password: prayer-bootcamp
You should all receive your complete prayer journals in the mail by the end of this week. Until then, you can just print out the “Supplication” pages that I’ve also attached to this email. This week we’re going to talk about all the stuff that we ask God for. We’ll be thinking about our heart’s desires in seven different areas of our lives.
After watching the video, please take a moment to…
1. Read Luke 11:1-13. This is where Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, encouraging them to relate to God like a father. As you reflect on the passage, ask yourself why God likes prayer so much. Think about whether or not YOU enjoy praying. What could make your daily prayer time more fun? (A special place to pray, a special time, candles, music, visual images, more dramatic answers from God…?) Experiment with that.
2. Write down your prayer requests (by category) on the left side of your Supplication pages. Write down requests for yourself, your family and your friends. Be as specific as possible. If God gives you what you asked for, write “YES!” on the right side next to that request. If He says no in a very clear way, write that down, too. If there is no clear answer, leave the right side blank and keep praying for that request once a week for the next 6 weeks.
3. Email one prayer request to the group. We will all put it in our prayer journals and pray for you on the appropriate day!
4. Tell us what this experience is like for you. Are you praying more or less than before? How does it feel? Are your prayer requests evenly divided between the categories, or are most of your requests in one area? Does it feel weird to pray about certain areas? Please email the group about your first impressions of the prayer journal. And let me know if you have questions. Let’s talk about this!
Next Wednesday: Loving God More
Lindsay Westra 