Praying Like Jesus: Forgive Us Our Sins

Scripture – Luke 11:2-4 (NRSV)

“Father, hallowed be your name.
+++Your kingdom come.
+++Give us each day our daily bread.
+++And forgive us our sins,
++++++for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
+++And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Devotion

Several devotions ago I talked about the curious difference in the way Christians pray the Lord’s Prayer. Most notably, some of pray, “Forgive us our trespasses” while other Christians pray, “Forgive us our debts.” No matter which of these we use, we understand that we’re not talking about literal trespasses or literal debts. Rather, these are metaphorical ways of talking about sin.

Well, just to make things more interesting, in Luke 11:4 Jesus complicates things even further by teaching us to pray, “And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.” As I explained previously, I think it’s likely that Jesus actually said what we call the Lord’s Prayer in a variety of ways, two of which are captured in the New Testament Gospels.

Though the language may vary, what remains constant is the instruction of Jesus that we ask for God’s forgiveness when we pray. Though we know that we are forgiven through the work of Christ on the cross, and that God’s forgiveness doesn’t depend on our efforts, if we are going to experience that forgiveness, we need to ask God for it. As it says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We will enjoy the benefits of forgiveness when we tell the Lord what we’ve done wrong and ask him to forgive us.

I grew up in a church in which a Prayer of Confession was an essential element of every worship experience. A pastor would stand before the congregation and offer a prayer on our behalf, mentioning both sin in general and specific kinds of sin. This time of confession often included several moments of silence during which worshippers were to tell the Lord about their own sins. I must say that I found this particular practice a little odd because the time of silence was so short. I barely had time to confess one sin, not to mention the list of sins that I had accumulated during the past week. Nevertheless, after the brief moment of silence, the pastor would finish up, say “Amen,” and then speak the Assurance of Pardon, often reciting the passage from 1 John that I quoted above: “If we confess our sins . . . .”

These days, many churches continue to feature a Prayer of Confession in their times of worship. But as I worship in a wide variety of churches these days, I am struck by how rare a dedicated prayer of confession has become in many congregations. I don’t really know why this is, because these churches don’t shy away from talking about sin. But the regular corporate confession of sin appears to have been set aside, along with repetition of the Lord’s Prayer, I might add.

One of the things I miss when corporate confession disappears is the experience of admitting in public my own sin, not in words others can hear, but in my participation in our shared confession. Something essential happens when brothers and sisters can say together, “Lord, we have sinned. We need your forgiveness.” It’s as if for a few moments we let down our guard, we stop pretending, and we agree together that we are in need of God’s grace in our lives. Moreover, something equally essential happens when we hear together that we are forgiven. If we take this seriously, among other things it will help us to offer forgiveness to each other, something vital for healthy church life.

I’m not necessarily criticizing churches that don’t use the traditional elements of worship I grew up with. Christians are free to worship God in a variety of biblically-inspired forms and expressions. And I expect for some worshipers the familiarity of a certain form of confession may lead to a kind of spiritual dullness. But I do wonder if many believers are not being taught by their churches to confess their sins and ask for God’s forgiveness. Given what we learn from 1 John 1:9, not to mention the Lord’s Prayer, this does concern quite me a bit. I wonder if some who have been saved by God’s grace through faith are, nevertheless, missing out on the discipline and joy that come from regular confession of sin.

I am convinced, however, that you and I are both free and encouraged to employ the model prayer of Jesus in our personal communication with God. I believe we should regularly confess our sin – and our specific sins – and ask the Lord to forgive us. This can happen in a variety of ways and forms. In my own devotional life, I often am guided by the Book of Common Prayer. The Daily Office includes a variety of Morning Prayer rites, all of which put confession of sin right near the beginning, followed by a priestly prayer that serves as an assurance of pardon. I have many friends who employ the ACTS model of prayer in their devotions: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. These are just two of many ways to include confession in your personal communication with the Lord.

I also find it helpful to confess in relationship to the biblical passage upon which I am reflecting in my devotions. If you’ve been reading Life for Leaders for a while, you’ll see this modeled in what I have written. Many times the prayers that come at the end of a devotion include a paragraph of confession that responds to the biblical text upon which the daily devotion is built. Again, I’m not saying this is the only way or the best way. But it is one more way we can include regular confession of sin in our prayers.

In tomorrow’s devotion we’ll examine the rest of what Jesus says we’re to pray in relationship to forgiveness, “for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us” (Luke 11:4). For now, I’d like you to consider your own prayer life as you respond to the simple line, “And forgive us our sins” (11:4). The following questions might help.

Reflect

In what ways has confession been a part of your experience of corporate worship?

How does confession play a role in your personal devotions?

Why do you think confession of sin and asking for God’s forgiveness are so important?

What holds you back from confessing your specific sins to God?

What helps you to confess on a regular basis?

Act

If you do not have a practice of regular confession, think and pray about how you might add this practice into your life.

Pray

Father, hallowed be your name.
+++Your kingdom come.
+++Give us each day our daily bread.
+++And forgive us our sins,
++++++for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
+++And do not bring us to the time of trial. Amen.

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Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the High Calling archive, hosted by the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Best of Daily Reflections: Finally, I Confessed