First John 1:9 is a well-known and precious verse to believers: "If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Confession is to be a key component to our prayers, as our Lord Jesus Himself taught us in the model prayer: "Forgive us our sins..." (Luke 11:3; cf. Matt. 6:12).
Every day I confess my sins to God. I acknowledge to Him any known transgressions, thank the Lord for His atoning grace, and claim His promise that "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Like David, I ask the Lord to "renew a steadfast spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).
Yet the other day I came across a written prayer that convinced me that I sin far more often than I think I do, and that I don't devote sufficient time to healthy introspection, asking the Lord to search my heart and to reveal any - and all - wicked ways in me. The following anonymous prayer, simply entitled Sins, was penned by one who had an acute sensitivity to sin and made a properly thorough confession to God:
Merciful Lord,
Pardon all my sins of this day, week, year, all the sins of my life,
sins of early, middle, and advanced years,
of omission and commission,
of morose, peevish and angry tempers,
of lip, life and walk,
of hard-heartedness, unbelief, presumption, pride,
of unfaithfulness to the souls of men,
of want [lack] of bold decision in the cause of Christ,
of deficiency in outspoken zeal for his glory,
of bringing dishonour upon thy great name,
of deception, injustice, untruthfulness
in my dealings with others,
of impurity in thought, word and deed,
of covetousness, which is idolatry,
of substance unduly hoarded, improvidently squandered,
not consecrated to the glory of thee, the great Giver;
sins in private and in the family,
in study and recreation, in the busy haunts of men,
in the study of thy Word and in the neglect of it,
in prayer irreverently offered and coldly withheld,
in time misspent,
in yielding to Satan's wiles,
in opening my heart to his temptations,
in being unwatchful when I know him nigh,
in quenching the Holy Spirit;
sins against light and knowledge,
against conscience and the restraints of thy Spirit,
against the law of eternal love.
Pardon all my sins, known and unknown,
felt and unfelt,
confessed and not confessed,
remembered or forgotten.
Good Lord, hear; and hearing, forgive.
- The Valley of Vision:
Puritan Prayers and Devotions
Certainly there is such a thing as morbid introspection that leads to spiritual depression. It's been rightly said that for every look you take at yourself; take ten looks at Christ. Nevertheless, the more we understand the quantity and magnitude of our sins and failures, the more we truly appreciate, value and prize the free and full forgiveness that God provides in and through His Son Jesus Christ.
God help us to grow in our awareness of sin, that we might excel in our praise of His grace.