“Prayer for Repentance – How to Pray when you have Sinned” is the acknowledgment that you have wronged God in your actions. And this is because we sin out of ignorance, sometimes out of our weaknesses, and mostly out of willful disobedience.
Therefore, repentance is an important aspect of your Christian life. The aspect that enables you to be in right standing before God. Because it is the way provided for you and me to become free from our sins and receive forgiveness for them.
”1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!3 For I know my transgressions,
Psalm 51:1-4English Standard Version (ESV)
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
The context of Psalm 51:1-4 is David’s sin (of adultery) with Bathsheba. And Bathsheba had gotten pregnant.
So if David had hoped his sin wouldn’t be discovered, then he was dead wrong. He could not hide his sin because Bathsheba’s pregnancy would soon become noticeable.
Therefore, the nature of sin is such that your sin will come to light in due course. Sin cannot be hidden. But you can repent of it.
Another characteristic of sin is that most often than not they’ll be a need for a cover-up. That’s why in an attempt to keep his sin hidden, David resorted to killing Bathsheba’s husband. Meaning that sin begets more sin.
Prayer for Repentance – How to Pray when you have Sinned
But a believer is not meant to be a slave to sin and the consequences thereof (Romans 6). God’s mercy is available for him/her who has sinned (1 John 1:9). Only He can cleanse a sinner of sin.
That’s why when you have sinned, you have to appeal to God’s mercy. And as you do so, you have to explicitly call out your sin.
Therefore, the prayer for repentance involves two critical things: appealing to God’s mercy and acknowledging your sin. Repentance is made possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Because He paid for our sins.
