Day 25: Confessions
Scripture:
James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Psalms 32:3 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Song: Clean This House
Happy Twenty Fifth Day of Thanks Everyone!
Today, I give thanks for the ability to confess my mistakes (a.k.a. wrongdoings/missteps/blunders/transgressions) to God and a trusted prayer partner so that I can be forgiven, healed, and set free from the consequences and repercussions of that mistake.
Over seventeen years ago a friend of mine said that he hated to talk to me. Of course, I gave him one of my sharp side-eyed looks first. When I finally asked him, “Why? What did I do?” His reply was, “every time I talk to you I feel like I’m supposed to confess my soul and then I end up telling you all the bad things I’ve ever done. I can’t keep doing this. You know too much stuff about me.” I let him know that it was a good thing that he felt comfortable enough to tell me his stuff because at least he was assured that I would never tell it to anyone else but bring it before the Lord to pray for him. Although, he still did not vibe with me knowing all of his business, we developed a great friendship with raw honesty and I was able to save his behind from a great deal of mayhem because of his honesty and those confessions.
Interestingly enough, many people have shared the same sentiments with him. Over the years, I have had many people, those I know and many I don’t know, who would start random conversations with me and tell me all of the mistakes or sins they’ve committed. As they finished their confessions and took deep sighs of relief, they would tell me that they thought they would have to take their secret to the grave but felt led to tell me. You can imagine how shocked I usually am when people who barely know me start to confess their business in detail and tell me that they have never even told the people closest to them what they were sharing with me. I’d be a listening ear to them, pray for them and then provide the necessary Godly encouragement and/or correction. This year was no different than previous years with those random encounters where people would call me or show up at my house with their confessions. I have had what I call more free pastoral care counseling sessions than I can count.
During one pastoral care session, one person began to confess ALL the wrongdoings of his/her past and even some that he/she was still committing. As I begin to speak to the person, who didn’t think that they would ever be strong enough to stop what they were doing, God began to minister to me and told me to not only provide comfort, encouragement, and correction to the person but told me to tell this person the parts of my testimony. God said, “I need this person to see a model of how I can deliver and set free. The person will only believe if you share from what I have delivered you.” That’s the word right there! We are overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimonies. I always admonish the women on my prayer call and tell them that they should never shy away from telling their testimonies and the good that God has done or is doing in their lives, because their testimonies will be the proof that God is able to do it for the next person. As the Lord instructed me, I began to share my testimony and the person looked at me in total surprise. I said, “Yes, I’m what it looks like to experience God’s complete freedom and deliverance from the sins of your past and the bondages that could not be easily broken. And if God can do and did that for me, and He is no respecter of persons, He will do it for you too.”
I explained to the person that in and by his/her own desire, he/she keeps being consumed by her behavior. I declared that the person would never be able to change in his/her own strength. After all, he/she had already been through the cycles of trying to stop his/her behavior and failed. It would only be by the hand of God’s grace and mercy, when he/she admitted that he/she couldn’t change on his/her own and needed God’s help, that God would step in and deliver him/her. Shortly after, he/she confessed the sin to God and asked for forgiveness and deliverance from the issue. I prayed for the person and noticed huge weights dropping off the person and deliverance taking place. I am happy to report that the person has been on a path to wholeness for several months and has not gone back to their old patterns of behavior. Hallelulah! Who the son (of God) sets free, is free indeed.
Today, as we give thanks for confession and the ability for one to be delivered and set free from the grip of the secret, I invite you to be a listening ear and a trusted friend or prayer partner that will not spread gossip, but will pray for the person to be healed and set free. I also invite you to attend Morning Glory, a 6 a.m. prayer call from Monday through Fridays at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88047300262?pwd=dGRTT2srRjFwNHdITHcvWDJkOGRMdz09 and to donate some your financial resources to $JesusJuice123 at cashapp so there can be a continuation of this prayer ministry. Additionally, if you know someone who needs counseling, prayer and spiritual guidance, please refer them to Sincere Sessions at https://www.sinceresessions.com/ with Ms. Shanay Scott, who provides individual and marital counseling as well as spiritual guidance.
Love Ya,
Have a Great Day of Thanks!
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