Praying From A Clear Conscience

Praying from a Clear Conscience

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9, ESV

AN OLD PARADIGM of Christian spirituality—one common throughout the Middle Ages and even in many strains of Protestantism—assumes that every sin disqualifies you just a little bit more from having your prayers answered. It’s based on a false belief that we can earn our status with God and on the true belief that sin and rebellion obscure God’s will for our lives. But for those who find their identity in Jesus and have been thoroughly cleansed by him, our merit is no longer relevant. Our prayers are based on his righteousness and standing before God, not our own. We have nothing left to earn.

Still, sin does hinder our prayers by altering our perception of ourselves, which in turn undermines our faith. The issue is not how God see us; he looks at us through the lens of Jesus. Nor is the issue our sin itself. The issue is faith, and guilt and shame undo it. Our biggest problem with self-perception is not our sin but the guilt and shame we attach to it. We forget how thoroughly we have been cleansed, how righteous we are in Christ. Our guilt and shame lead us to think that our works have something to do with our spiritual status.

If you don’t see yourself as having been cleansed; if the weight of sin and failure hang over your head; if you carry burdens and feel stuck in the mire of worldliness, you probably won’t pray with much faith. Whether God sees you this way or not isn’t the point. (He doesn’t.) The point is that when your heart doesn’t feel free, you don’t pray freely. When you don’t see yourself as faithful, or cleansed of unfaithfulness, you won’t pray with much faith. How you see God is the most important aspect of your prayer life, but how you see yourself is the next most important. Confession sets you up to experience the cleansing he has already given you and to see yourself as he does—free from guilt and shame. Pray from that place always and let God’s view of you fill you with confident faith.

God has cast our confessed sins into the depths of the sea, and he’s even put a “No Fishing” sign over the spot.