Totally Exposed!!!

Psalm 32:5 (A Psalm of David) reads:


I have acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. ( KJV)


Lately, I have been pondering upon how to improve my prayer life. I shared with you all a couple of weeks ago that I am currently stretching towards growing closer to Christ. I recognize that one of the major ways to grow closer to Christ is to spend time in conversation with Him, i.e. prayer.


I began to think upon the average prayers that I hear people pray in church and the prayers that have flowed from my soul. In our prayers, we always ask God to teach us how to pray and what to pray for. (I think I prayed that more as a child.) But, let's face it; prayer can be difficult at times.


One product of being flesh is that we have so many emotions that can be heightened at any given time. There are times, although not often I hope, that we feel too angry, too sad, too frustrated, and even too disappointed to have a conversation with Christ. We have taught that we must be in a certain condition physically, emotionally, and spiritually to pray. And, don't get me wrong, God does not always want us to approach us like we are having a conversation with our neighbor, but sometimes you have to go there because that is all you know to say in the moment. Often I am driving in my car talking to God as if He is physically sitting in the passenger seat. I'm sure some people have thought I was literally crazy for talking to myself as they sat at the stoplight beside me.


Regardless of how you pray or when you pray, it is my prayer that you pray! Prayer is our connection to God. Prayer allows us to petition for our desires. Prayer is also what creates a clean spirit within us, but only if we ask for forgiveness, which brings me to tonight's post.


Many times prayers end with the following statement, "And, with forgiveness of all of my sins in Your Son's Jesus Name I pray, Amen." Often we end our prayers asking for forgiveness. I began to think about how I could strengthen my prayers, and beginning them asking for forgiveness came into my mind, along with praying a total prayer for forgiveness.


As flesh, we sin so much that at times, we don't even realize that we have sinned. A sin is a sin whether it is intentional or unintentional. We should be constantly asking for forgiveness for our sins. Praying for forgiveness is one of the essential components that keep us in the right standing with our Heavenly Father, yet it is the last petition in our prayer. God is so good, that He forgives us regardless of our hastily method of asking for forgiveness.


I want to pray total prayers of forgiveness. When we pray for forgiveness, we confess our sins and ask God to look beyond what we have done to disappoint Him. I think it is ironic how we pray and ask for material things or opportunities, but we don't confess the sins that we knowingly have committed within the last conversation with Him. It is as if we attempt to hide our terrible transgressions from and all knowing God! IT just can't be done! God is omnipresent and omnipotent. He is always with us, which means He knows not only our every action, but our every inner thought as well. (And, yes, every now and then we need to ask for forgiveness for those thoughts!) We can hide absolutely, positively, nothing from God!!! Why not confess and ask for forgiveness and restore our right place with God daily? I have realized that confession is good for the soul. This may be why we always need to "vent" to someone when we are frustrated. Instead of venting to a friend or loved one, confess to God how you really feel, and receive forgiveness for your confession as you ask God to help you in that issue. We shoudl totally exposed ourselves to God. After all, He is our Father, and He will NEVER leave or forsake us, no matter how filthy and unrighteous our confessions are!

Lord, I just want to thank you right now for showing me that I should put more emphasis on asking for Your forgiveness in my prayers. I realize that this is what keeps me close to You and demonstrates Your love, grace, and mercy towards me. I ask that You forgive me for making asking for forgiveness a simple part of my prayer when it should be a monumental part. I love you just because of who You are! Thank you again for your forgiveness today!!!
Amen.