“Most merciful God
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word and deed
by what we have done
and by what we have left undone
we have not loved you with our whole heart
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves
we are truly sorry and humbly repent
for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ
have mercy on us and forgive us
that we may delight in your will
and walk in your ways
to the glory of your Name. Amen”
Simple confession leads to powerful transformation. The words above flow with a rhythm that gets us in step with God. They tune us into God in a way that affects us both consciously and subconsciously. Just as the best Major League hitters learn “to do by feel” what there is no time to accomplish “by conscious thought,” when facing a 100 mile per hour fastball, so does the discipline of confession equip us to live in step with God and be continually transformed in ways that go beyond even what we are aware of. The words of Proverbs 28:13 are helpful, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper…” I invite you to adopt a rhythm that puts you in step with God. This is how we raise the bar on our discipleship.