Confession: Deeper Understanding
by Clare Rice
Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
James 5:16
I grew up in the Episcopal church where my dad served as a priest. Every Sunday, as part of the eucharistic prayers, we prayed this prayer from The Book of Common Prayer:
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
For the first 30 years of my life, this was my confessional practice. I would pray this prayer aloud with the rest of the congregation and my slate would be wiped clean for another week. For me, the prayer functioned as multi-purpose cleaner for heart, mind, and soul. Since it covered all the bases, there was no need to be specific with my sins. The confessional prayer took care of it all.
In reality, my approach to confession and repentance kept me from experiencing God’s transforming love and grace. I believed I was forgiven, but I didn’t receive God’s forgiveness in a way that invited transformation. Growing up, I had learned that revealing my brokenness was shameful. This impacted how I viewed my sinful nature and how I viewed God.
It wasn’t until I was going through a study with a women’s small group, that I experienced transformation through confession. Our study included examining our lives, identifying sin patterns, confessing them to one another and praying together. Our group had been meeting for over a year and had developed deep trust and love, which made it safe for us to share our brokenness honestly.
Something powerful happened through speaking my specific sins out loud in the presence of God and women who dearly loved me. I received God’s forgiveness and restoration as my friends received my confession, reminded me of my identity in Christ Jesus, and prayed with me for my forgiveness and healing. Revealing my brokenness in this way drew me closer to God and deepened my friendships with those women. I continued meeting regularly with this group of women for several years for the sole purpose of confessional prayer. My time spent in prayer with these women was deeply impactful in my spiritual formation.
How does the practice of confession keep our eyes on Jesus? We all sin and without practicing confession and repentance, our efforts can become focused on image management, driving a wedge between us and God. No longer do we look to Jesus to restore us, but we rely on our own efforts to repair our moral failings. Jesus gave his life on the cross so that we could experience freedom from sin. We can miss out on the transformation brought about by receiving forgiveness when we bypass the practice of confession. Confession of specific sins to God and each other increases self-awareness, opening us up to God’s transforming love and grace.
How might God be inviting you to engage in the spiritual discipline of confession? If you do not currently have a rhythm of confession, I encourage you to explore how you can engage this practice. Or perhaps you have a discipline of practicing confession alone but have not experienced it in the presence of a trusted friend. I’ll share a practice that can be used alone or with another individual as well as some resources I have found to be helpful.
Confessional Prayer – adapted from The Book of Common Prayer
*This exercise can be done alone or in the presence of a friend, minister, or spiritual director – anyone you trust to receive your confession and pray with you for forgiveness and healing.
Read Psalm 139
Ask God to show you what you need to confess in your life:
What have you done that you need to confess?
What have you left undone that you need to confess?
When have you not loved God with your whole heart?
When have you not loved others well?
Confess each specific sin out loud and ask God to forgive you and help you change.
Give thanks to God for His forgiveness and restoring grace.
Here are two books I have found helpful in cultivating a regular practice of confession:
Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
Prayers for Today by Kurt Bjorkland
Whether you feel drawn to practice confession alone or in the presence of trusted friends, my prayer is that your experience will deepen your trust in Jesus and set you on the path to renewal and transformation.
O God, we confess to you that we have seen ourselves as others see us; we have seen ourselves as we would like to be. Now, in your grace, change us into the likeness of Christ, and then let us see ourselves as we really are. – Cornelius Plantinga Jr.
