Help Me See My Sin

(Note: St. Augustine is famous for writing a book called “The Confessions,” which he wrote completely as a prayer to God. In the same spirit, I plan to write these posts as a prayer to God.)

“O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.” (Psalm 7:3–5, ESV)

O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause…

Heavenly Father, I’m so thankful that I can you you “my God.” You are my God and I am your child. What a tremendous reminder. What a beautiful truth and promise. 

Father, that truth is an even greater reminder when I recognize that I fall short and have messed up. Even when I mess up, you will not leave me nor forsake me because you are my God. Even when I continue to struggle day after day, you are my faithful, patient God who is slow to anger and full of steadfast love. 

So, Father, I lean on you and ask that you open my eyes to see the mistakes I’ve made. I know that I often am blind to my own mistakes. I can do wrong without even knowing it. I can repay a friend of mine evil for evil and be unaware of what I’ve done. Help me see my sin. I don’t want to continue down a path that leads to destruction. I don’t want to be stuck in the rut of sinful behavior. So, Father, if I’ve done wrong, help me see it so I can repent, seek forgiveness, and reconciliation. 

…let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.

Heavenly Father, I know sometimes I become very comfortable in my sin. I even enjoy my sin. I take pleasure in repaying evil for evil or insult for insult. I can find comfort in settling into patterns that will lead me away from you toward destruction. 

Please, Father, don’t let me become comfortable in my sin. Let my sin cause me to stumble. Let my sin bring me low. Weigh me down—burden me—with my sin so that I turn to you for forgiveness and joy. Don’t allow me to prosper in my sin, so I am reminded that true prosperity comes from living the life of faith in You. 

Father, that’s what I really want. I want to live the life you’ve created me to live. I want to live the life of faith in Jesus Christ—a life that has turned from the destructive patterns of sin to the new life that Christ offers—a life leading to eternal life. 

So, Father, draw my heart more fully toward you so that I turn more fully away from my sin. Cause my heart to love you more than any of the temptations that come my way.