Can I ask you a personal question?

 When is the last time you had a good old prayer of confession? And I’m not talking about a formal prayer, I’m talking about a soul-bearing, gut-wrenching raw prayer when you realize that you’ve done something terribly wrong.  A prayer that you wouldn’t want anyone else but God to hear?

I really hope I don’t sound like a prude   I’m only asking you because I’m asking it of myself today. Because if we can’t admit in times of prayer where we are going wrong, we likely aren’t even admitting it to ourselves. And if we aren’t admitting our sins even to ourselves, we most certainly have no desire to turn away from those patterns and live a life that reflects Jesus Christ to others.

I’ve learned that if I want people around me to see Jesus and how He has affected me, they have to see evidence in my life that I’m living for Him. And if I’m living in a pattern of denial over my own sin, the people around me will notice my wrong doings long before they see the light of Jesus in me. Does that make sense? 

Confessing our sins to God doesn’t have to be complicated. And it should be a regular part of our prayers.  I’ve got a few steps that you can try this week to uncover patterns of sin in your life so you can begin the process of turning them over to God