The Prayer In Rhode Island

It was a Sunday morning up north in the state of Rhode Island.  I was standing in a church office with a local pastor and several other guys.  We were about to start a worship service, so all of us fellows formed a circle and had a time of prayer.

The pastor of the church started our prayer time by saying, "Lord, this morning, I had a horrible attitude and snapped at my wife.  I'm so sorry for that."

Then another guy in our circle prayed out loud, "Lord, I struggle and sin all the time.  I'm truly sorry for how bad I am a lot of days."

This started an avalanche of prayers by guys who almost seemed to want to outdo each other on how depraved they were and how awful their behavior had been.  It grew to the point of being uncomfortable for me.  Never in my life had I been so ready for a prayer time to be over.

Then, something cool happened.  The last guy who took a turn in our circle prayed this:  "Lord, today, I just want to say I'm thankful to be forgiven.  I'm so grateful that you have given me a pardon and you cleanse away my guilt.  What a blessing that is!"

When he did that, it was like the dark clouds parted and the sun started shining again.  Joy returned to the room.  And a positive vibe was in the air.

Listen, folks.  I realize there is a time for privately confessing to God our sins and transgressions.  Believe me, I understand that and I do that when I'm by myself.  It's totally appropriate and spiritually important.

But I think if we're not careful, we can get more obsessed with our guilt than God's forgiveness.  We can become more fixated on our failures than on God's victories.  I've seen some folks that carry on and on so much about how bad or awful they've been that it's almost like they're glorifying their sin.  It's kind of like confessional showboating.  I just don't think that's healthy. 

Rather than beat ourselves up constantly for what we've done wrong, let's lift praises and thanksgiving up daily for what God's done right.  He's saved us and forgiven us.  God has washed away our wrongdoings and covered us up with His righteousness.  We ought to feel good about that and rejoice over it.

So, yeah, if you need to confess some stuff to God, by all means go ahead and do it privately and experience His grace.  But after that, receive and believe His forgiveness.  And know that you can walk around with joy and gratitude rather than beating yourself up and punishing the guy or the girl who stares back at you in the mirror.

Child of God, you are forgiven for all of your sin.  Believe that and receive that.  Let go of your guilt, and latch on to His grace.  Then, when you do this, move forward and enjoy your status as a loved, saved soul.  That's when life gets really good!!