1. Knowing Prayer Part Two

2. Review Indicator of our faith Communication with God God pays attention One element of prayer is Praise

3. Confession 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness.” Sin separates us from God If we have sin in our lives, and we probably do… We must be willing to acknowledge that sin, and ask God to forgive it.

4. Confession Psalm 51:1-17 Facts and thoughts Only God can forgive sin. God knows our sins (God knows everything) until they are removed. When we sin, we sin against God So when God judges, it will be a righteous judgment, because we will get what we bring upon ourselves.

5. Confession We must be careful to place the blame for our sins upon ourselves. We cannot blame anyone or anything for our short-comings. We must call sin what it is—sin. Too often society discounts sin, and would prefer something less evil sounding. Error in judgment, sowing wild oats, or mistakes or short-comings.

6. Confession Nehemiah 1 Daniel 5 Examine these prayers They both begin with praise and confession

7. Confession Excuses will not work I sinned but…… There are no buts Sometimes we try to rationalize the reason we sinned so as to alleviate our own conscience, and we try to justify ourselves.

8. Confession Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, You will not despise.” 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

9. Confession We must do our best to convince God that we are truly repentant when we confess our sins. We confess not only the blatant sins we know we have done, but we should also confess the secret sins (Psalm 19:12) in our lives. God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, so we better be sincere.

10. Confession When we ask God to forgive us, He does. This puts us back into a relationship with Him. We do not have to be baptized again. Once again, we can enjoy the spiritual blessings found only in Christ.

11. Conclusion Confessing sins is vital for our salvation. We must acknowledge our own sins, and ask forgiveness for those sins. We should rejoice after we confess. God has allowed us back into His fold. This joy should be contagious, so that others will do the same.