For an introduction to my prayer binder, click here. For the post on the Adoration section, click here.
For those of you who just came to this post hoping for a photo of the inside of the confession section, forget it!
Ah, good old confession. It’s just about enough to make us want to throw that whole ACTS thing out the window, right? But one thing I’ve been learning lately is that the Christian life is a life of ongoing repentance. So this might be one of the most important aspects of prayer. I think it’s important to remember that we not only need to actively confess the sin that we’re aware of, but also take time to be quiet, asking the Holy Spirit to prick our hearts and show us the sin we have been ignoring.
The confession section of my prayer binder is simple. It is a page where I have listed patterns of sin that I struggle with the most often, such as materialism, pride, selfishness, lack of self-control, envy, discontentment, and anxiety. I pray through the list, focusing on things I am currently struggling with the most, and then asking God to show me if there’s anything new I need to jot down.
At the top and bottom of my confession page, I have two very important reminders. They are quotes from Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions
“Thy blood is the blood of incarnate God, its worth infinite, its value beyond all thought. Infinite must be the evil and guilt that demands such a price . . . “
At the bottom of the page, I have written:
” . . . yet thy compassions yearn over me, thy heart hastens to my rescue, thy love endured my curse, thy mercy bore my deserved stripes.”
I love these daily reminders of two very important truths. First, that my sin is serious. Christ’s blood is infinite in value. And that was the price demanded by my worry, my pride, my selfishness, my discontentment. These are not small issues.
Second, that Christ paid the price for my sin so that I can stand righteous before a Holy God. God Himself worked in history to secure my rescue. In light of the ways I rebel against His Word every day, this is truly amazing grace.
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