PRAYER (Part 3)
Confession

Always in my prayer time, I come before the Lord and ask Him to purge me. I know that I am free and forgiven because of Christ's death on the cross, but I also know that there are areas of my life that I keep failing Him in, and I want to be cleansed from those areas as well. I'm learning the importance of NAMING my sins to Him. Just a general "forgive my sins" doesn't keep me from truly understanding what my sins are and I want to have a change of heart in those areas. I believe He forgives me when I say it in that manner, but I want not only to confess my weaknesses, but to change them as well, and I'll be more able to do that if I can admit those areas and come face to face with them.

I usually start by making a list of the obvious ones...selfishness and pride are always on that list. Confessing my deepest, darkest thoughts is becoming routine as well -- judgmental, impure and critical thoughts. I always ask God to bring to the surface areas of my life that I need to confess and change. Things that I've buried for so long, I'm not even aware I have!

Scripture is becoming key in this area of my prayer life as well.

Psalm 19:12-14
Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from my secret faults. Keep me back from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be BLAMELESS, and I shall be INNOCENT of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord my strength and my redeemer.

Psalm 51
Lord, I know you desire truth in my inward parts. I praise You, Lord that you will make me to know wisdom in my hidden parts. Purge me! I want to be clean! Wash me! I want to be whiter than snow.

Mark 8:34
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

My prayer is that I can deny myself every day, and take up His cross and follow Him, whatever He asks, whatever that may be. Even if it means making myself transparent on the computer and sharing some of my most personal stuff! :) I can only pray that this is encouraging someone out there to really get serious about their own prayer life and to see the importance it's role is in having a relationship with God.