Confessing Prayer

Devotional

My favorite car of all time is the 1965 Ford Mustang. Mine was white with a red interior in the fastback edition with a four-on-the-floor manual transmission. It was great fun to drive and easy to maintain. And I got lots of practice at both.

One particular challenge had to do with the battery system. Cables attached to clamps that attached to posts protruding from the top of the battery. These cables, in turn, connected to the starting system, sending electricity from the battery to start the engine.

Where the clamps connected to the battery posts, corrosion was a constant problem. I actually had to keep a wire brush in the car that I could use to clean off the posts to make sure the car would start.

Otherwise, this incredible car became incredibly dead.

I share this story of my old Mustang as a parable for our souls. When we ask Jesus to become our Savior and Lord, his Spirit comes to live in us as his temple. It’s his Spirit that gives us the power to be his witnesses to the entire world. And we can then speak as the Spirit leads us and pray in his power and with his guidance.

But there’s a problem. Like the corrosion that blocks the power of a battery, sin blocks the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s why we are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not quench the Spirit.” It’s so important for us to pray from hearts that are cleansed of sin and right with our Father. Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

The idea that God won’t hear us is admittedly uncomfortable to think about, but it’s important for us to unpack what today’s verse teaches us. It says, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18). It’s not that God wouldn’t want to hear us— it’s that he can’t hear us. Our sins can actually hinder and block the Holy Spirit. They drive a wedge between us and our holy Father.

In Proverbs 28:9, Solomon warned us as well: “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” But it’s not all bad news! Listen to this from 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

This is why the spiritual discipline of daily confession is so important. To do that, we need to ask the Lord to show us anything we must confess, then confess all he reveals. We can receive his forgiving grace and continue forward without guilt or shame. His forgiveness and acceptance are immediate and complete. And, as a result, he is able to hear all our prayers and answer according to his will.

Peter assured us in 1 Peter 3:12, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Let us be people who practice daily confession and experience the open ears of God. May we be willing to come before God today with a repentant heart as we spend time in guided prayer.

today’s devotional is written by Jim Denison