One of the most common reasons we don’t pray as often as we could is our constant sense of condemnation. When you’re a sinner, approaching a perfectly holy and righteous God can be intimidating.
If you want to grow in your prayer life, you must learn the difference between condemnation and conviction. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Redeemer and King, your sins – past, present, and even future – are forgiven and cleansed. That’s the scandalous nature of grace.
That doesn’t mean that the sin we commit present doesn’t matter. It matters to our walk with God. You can’t have intimacy with God while disregarding his Word.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit brings conviction to our hearts. It’s painful to be shown our darker side, but it’s a necessary part of our spiritual growth.
What the Holy Spirit doesn’t do, however, is condemn us. We are God’s children and have a right standing before him by grace through faith. We will never, ever, ever be condemned again.
David wrote about this in Psalm 103…
The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.
Psalm 103:8-14 NLT
When the enemy whispers condemnation in your ears, let the phrases in this passage ring true…
The Lord is compassionate and merciful…
He is slow to get angry…
God pursues you with an unfailing love…
God doesn’t give us what we deserve – His Son, Jesus took that for us – he gives us grace and forgiveness…
He has completely removed the record of our sins from us…
God is like a father to his children…
God remembers that we are human and knows all about our struggles…
If it’s been a while since you’ve approached God because you fear your unconfessed sins are an insurmountable barrier between you, remember this passage. There is grace. There is forgiveness. There is cleansing in the blood of Jesus and victory in being a child of the Father.
