Making Room for What Matters Most

Week 5 – Confession

Breath Prayer

(Breathe in) May my heart confess. (Breathe out) And receive Your grace.

In Week 5 of Lent we are focusing on the practice of confession. To confess is to agree about what it true about us. When we “agree” it implies there is another person with whom we are being honest. It is a humbling and vulnerable practice to admit our sin or our faults, but it is a necessary path to freedom. Jesus invites us to a life that walks in the light and embraces the grace of the cross.

Take a look at the following quotes about confession. Which one resonates with you the most and why?

“Confession is opening up our heart for the Holy Spirit to name what is true about us. Not a neurotic shame-inducing inventory.” Adele Ahlberg Calhoun in Spiritual Disciplines Handbook

“Confession is a terrifying gift, which sounds like a contradiction because it is.” – Tyler Staton in Praying Like Monks Living Like Fools

“Maturity is discovering the depths of my personal brand of fallenness…” – Staton

“We say we believe in grace, but confession is how we actually trust what we already believe in.”- Staton

“The discipline of confession brings an end to pretense. God is calling into being a Church that can openly confess its frail humanity and know the forgiving and empowering graces of Christ. Honesty leads to confession, and confession leads to change.” – Richard Foster in Celebration of the Disciplines

Scripture Reading and Reflection

• What do you think holds people back from practicing confession?
• Have you ever practiced confession with someone else? What was the experience like and how did it make you feel?
• What insight do the following verses provide about confession?

Psalm 32:1-5

¹Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
² Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit. ³ When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. ⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

I John 1:6-9

⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. ⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each so that you may be healed.

Prayer

Take some quiet time in prayer for self-examination. As you pray these verses, pay attention to what surfaces in your mind. Remember this is not to be a “shame-inducing” exercise. The convicting whispers or impressions of the Spirit are gentle and always lead to life.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

I confess _____(name the sins)____. Realign my heart with yours and help me to turn from this way of living.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast from me your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant to me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12

Making Room

As you have taken time to reflect on your own struggles, sins, or hang ups, is there one area in particular where you sense it might be helpful to share it with someone?  Where might you be “hiding” out of shame or embarrassment or indifference? Choosing to bring our “stuff” into the light with a safe, trusted person can allow us to experience God’s grace in powerful ways.

Do you have someone in your life who could be that for you? When thinking about who may be a safe person for a confession Richard Foster suggests these qualities: spiritual maturity, wisdom, compassion, good sense of humor, ability to keep a confidence, and a wholesome sense of humor.

As we make room for confession this week, we make room for deeper healing and greater intimacy with God and others.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, “A man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother knows that he is no longer alone with himself; he experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person.”