Playing alone quietly, I accidentally ruined the small toy I’d found to occupy myself. I couldn’t have been more than five, but I still remember the horror of realizing I had broken something that didn’t belong to me. We’d been visiting the home of family friends and, since their kids were the ages of my three oldest siblings, I’d been left to my own devices. On that day, I’d found an old mobile with a dangling yellow bird in a back bedroom. I hadn’t meant to ruin it, I’d only been testing to see how far I could stretch the spring before it would recoil again. But my experiment backfired when I stretched it so far that the spring’s metal bent and stayed extended for good. Realizing my mistake, I decided to hide it and pretend nothing had happened.
Not long after, one of the older kids discovered the mobile and accused me of ruining it. Stammering to cover my mistake, I blurted out the only thing I could think to say, “I, I, just found it that way, it was already broken!”
Everyone knew I was lying, but I wouldn’t admit the truth (until now). I’ll never forgot that moment–it’s the earliest memory I have of not confessing a wrongdoing. Of course, my behavior was simply human nature. It started in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, hid from God, and then tried to shift blame when their sin was uncovered.
None of us likes to admit we’re wrong, but confessing our sins to God regularly needs to be a part of our ongoing communication with Him. Unconfessed sin separates us from the Lord and hinders our relationship with Him. It also prevents spiritual growth and hardens our hearts, closing us off to the things God wants to teach us. Confessing our sins consistently helps us to keep short accounts with the Lord and stops us from traveling too far down roads that will lead us away from Him.
One of the best examples of this kind of prayer comes from King David in Psalm 51. It was written in the later days of David’s rule over Israel when he had become powerful, prosperous, and revered. Although he was a wise and godly king, he was far from perfect. In fact, he wrote this Psalm to confess and repent after committing adultery with Bathsheba, getting her pregnant, and trying to cover his wrongdoing by having her husband killed in battle. If you need your memory refreshed, you can read the story in 1 Samuel 11 & 12. This is probably the best-known example of a prayer of confession and repentance in Scripture. David uses several different words for sins in this Psalm including “iniquities” and “transgressions.” These words can be used interchangeably. Here’s how it starts:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” (Psalm 51:1-4, NIV)
Using the metaphor of being physically washed, David describes the need for spiritual cleansing from sin. Think about times when you’ve been physically unclean- covered in dirt, sweat, and grime. It feels amazing to shed grubby clothes, step in a hot shower, and rinse off all the filth. But have you ever thought about the ways sin makes you spiritually dirty? Confessing to God allows us to “come clean” and gives that same feeling of refreshment and renewal on a spiritual level.
Reviewing recent events in your life and confessing specific times that you’ve dishonored God in thought, attitude, or behavior stops sinful ways from getting deeply ingrained in your life. The more quickly you recognize sin and let the Lord root it out, the less hold it has over you. The metaphor of physical washing illustrates this so clearly. The longer we go without bathing, the more effort it takes to get clean. The same is true of our spiritual lives, but the consequences have much higher stakes.
Sometimes we feel bad about having our sin discovered or about the consequences it causes, but how often do we recognize that our sins hurt God? David’s prayer acknowledges this when he says, “Against you, you only, have I sinned.” (Psalm 51:4, NIV). Jesus paid for our sins by choosing to die on a cross. He experienced unthinkable pain to free us from the bondage of sin, yet so often we hold onto behaviors and thoughts that hurt Him deeply.
David understands the severity of his sins and takes full ownership over them. He recognizes that only God’s mercy can save him and cleanse him. He also knows that he needs a clean heart to be restored into a right relationship with God: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10, NIV)
David’s request for God to purify his heart exemplifies the second part of confession: repentance. This happens when we recognize we’ve been headed in the wrong direction (away from God) and ask Him to turn us back around. Repentance invites the Lord to realign us with His ways, because confession with no intent to change is hollow and meaningless.
There is a tension to this, I know. We’ve been saved from sin, yet we continue to struggle with it. Scripture understands this paradox and urges us to press on: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9, NIV)
Instead of feeling dread at the thought of owning up to your sins, think of it like you would a daily shower. Our bodies don’t stay clean permanently, so we wash them regularly. We don’t see this as futile, but necessary. In the same way, sin happens in our lives daily, even if we try to avoid it. Confessing it is our chance to reconnect with God and to renew our efforts to follow Him wholeheartedly. When we lay it before the Lord and let Him cleanse us, we get to start new again.
In another psalm, David tells us “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12, NIV) Why not stop now and confess to the Lord? Then thank Him that He doesn’t keep a running tally of your sins.
Confession isn’t a popular topic in the world of music, but For King and Country does have a good song about it. Listen here.