unconfessed sin

[sugarssweetpea]

Wednesday, November 22

This week's promise: God is always calling us back to him

The consequences of unconfessed sin

"If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.
Psalm 66:18-19 NLT"


The elephant in the room

"It is bad to be in trouble. It is worse to be in trouble and on the outs with God. According to this passage, penned by King David, if we are harboring sinful attitudes in our hearts or willfully indulging in sinful activities, we should not expect God to respond to our prayers.

This is not because God doesn't love us. He does—more than we realize. It's not because God doesn't want to help us. He longs to deliver us. It's simply that a holy God cannot wink at sin or look the other way. Intimacy with God requires honesty, humility, purity.

For us to attempt to approach God without first addressing the ways in which we have knowingly offended and wronged him is an exercise in futility. Sin is the "elephant in the room" that must be acknowledged and dealt with. Once we do that, we again enjoy sweet fellowship with God. Clean and forgiven, we can be sure he hears our pleas for help.

Praying God's Promise:
Lord, you do not listen to my prayers when I have unconfessed sin in my life. By your Spirit give me the humility I need to take a hard look at my soul. Show me, God, any wrong attitudes and actions that I need to acknowledge. I want to be right with you. I want to be close to you. Thank you for pledging to hear those who humble themselves and acknowledge their sin. May my sins, which block me from you when I don't confess them, become a bridge to you as I admit them, forsake them, and experience your forgiveness.

from the Praying God's Promises in Tough Times by Len Wood (Tyndale) pp 8-9"

[sugarssweetpea]

I take this passage to mean that even if we confess a sin & then willingly commit it, it is as good as an unconfessed sin b/c our heart is not in the right place. We cannot say, God please forgive me, I know this is wrong and I feel really bad about it but I am going to do whatever sin it is, go out & do it & expect to be forgiven for it. I also believe that God will not help us to overcome this sin until our hearts are right with Him & we put forth an actual effort to stop the sin.