My Forgiving Lord, the recognition that my thoughts/actions are wrong is an acknowledgement, from within the depths of my inner being, that what I have done is a grievous offense against You, my fellow man or myself. Both my willful acts of commission and my thoughtless acts omission, require Your forgiveness. I must concede that because of my sins, a need was created for Your “perfect sacrifice” on Calvary. Because of this, my heart is sorrowful and tears stream down my face, but through Your loving sacrifice, the gates of Heaven have been opened to me forever. The sorrow I experience is Your working of repentance in me so that I attain the full benefits of my salvation. Through repentance, I am able to feel genuine sorrow for my sins and an inward repugnance to sin because it causes me to forsake my closeness with You.
Sometimes I take on a form of repentance because I fear the consequences of my sins. I’ve come to realize though that if my feelings do not go further than this, what I am feeling is remorse which only leads to despair. What I want to develop is an aversion to my sins and accept the fact that they cause You pain. I want to be completely honest with You, feel freedom from guilt and experience the hope and happiness You intend for me. When I am able to experience “true contrition”, I feel complete and powerful in resisting the temptations of the Devil. Through Your saving grace, I am better able to comprehend the enormity of my sins and the depths of Your divine compassion. I need the work of the Holy Spirit in my life to teach me Your truths, awaken my conscious to what I am doing that is sinful and have Him lead me to real repentance.
In my walk with You, I’ve come to realize that, as with faith, repentance is left up to me to make the decision to confess and change. Without a desire to change and act differently, I will continually repeat the errors of the past. “True contrition” makes me want to separate myself from all evil. I have come to see, as I gaze into the mirror of my life, that repentance is the life blood that keeps our relationship alive … this is because I am fallen and will find myself continually falling into a pit, from which I cannot escape, unless I receive Your help and forgiveness. As the saying goes, “seeing is believing” … therefore, being able to see and quarantine my ugly behaviors will help me win the battle over them. As Proverbs implores, “in all your ways acknowledge Me and I will make your paths straight.” Therefore, it is with a contrite heart that I come to You in an act of “true contrition.” And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Isaiah 57:15… I live in a high and lofty place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit; to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.