“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

1 Peter 2:9

 

This passage of scripture is powerful because it outlines the purpose of our hearts: a life of holiness before the Lord. We were made to overflow with the goodness of His presence, grace, hope, and love. Getting our hearts to this point is a process, though (Heb 12:14). In our journey of seeking the Lord, we are transformed into the fullness of all that He has for us.

There are several avenues that can help us be conformed more and more into the image of Christ as we pursue this journey with God. Times of prayer and worship are among these avenues; so is confession (Acts 2:42) (James 5:16). Confessions, intentional statements of belief and repentance, are a powerful way that we can approach the Lord (1 John 1:9). Through these declarative statements, transformation is strengthened and our faith is bolstered. Our words are marked with authority and gravity. They hold the ability to influence our hearts, environment, relationships and community. We must, therefore, carefully consider the things we confess to be true.

Confessions from a genuine heart have the ability to bring truth, hope, and redemption to situations. They act as corrective guides to realign our spirits, environment, relationships, and communities with the realities of heaven. Our hearts are brought to greater levels of holiness and righteousness as we repent of sin, remind our hearts of His forgiveness and kindness toward us, and declare Truth to be supreme (Lev 20:26) (1 Thes 3:13) (1 John 1:9). Scripture-based confessions cause our hearts to look more like Christ, and our environment to look like Heaven. Through consistent confession, we can facilitate the advancement of the Kingdom.

For this reason, corporate and personal prayers of confession are powerful tools of edification and exhortation. As we process through confessional prayers, not only are our hearts are reminded of scriptural truths, but our words act to influence our surroundings according to those very truths. Corporate confession is particularly impactful (James 5:16) (Gal 6:2). As we come together and unite in corporate prayers of confession, we re-align ourselves to scriptural truths, declare what truths will define our churches and communities, and also encourage the people around us (1 John 3:3) (John 17:17). Where we may be lacking faith, corporate confessions serve to strengthen hope and put courage into those around us.

Because of the importance and power of confession, different prayers of confession will appear from time to time on the blog. They will be archived under the Crafted Prayers category and listed with other resources. It is my hope that these prayers will help guide your prayers of confession before the Lord and that you will be brought into even greater depths of knowledge of His love and grace.