Prayer of repentance christian

Repentance Prayer

Heavenly Father God, I come to you now to repent the sins that I have committed against you and against my brothers and sisters. Create in me a clean heart, O God, take away the guilt and sorrow that I feel.

Bonus: Download a free PDF of this prayer you can refer to later

Psalm 25:7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions.
According to Your loving kindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

Renew in me your steadfast spirit so that I may hold onto your word and your promises. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Let him be my guiding light, leading me away from sin and strengthening me to overcome the wiles and tricks of the enemy.

Acts 20:21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

Restore the joy of Your Salvation

Lord, you know my heart, there’s nothing I can hide from you. I have strayed from the path, I have been lured away.

But, Oh Heavenly Father, restore to me the joy of Your salvation, that wonderful freedom and joy when I first came to know you. Lord, I sacrifice my broken spirit, my broken and a contrite heart. Heal me Lord as I come before the cross.

Lord, you know my heart, there’s nothing I can hide from you. Click To Tweet

2 Corinthians 7:9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Click To Tweet

Father, on this day forward, I will love you and praise you from the bottom of my heart. For by you alone am I saved. Grant my petitions, Abba Father. Thank you, In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Bonus: Download a free PDF of this prayer you can refer to later

Psalms 102:21-22 “So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord.”

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Forgiveness and repentance go hand-in-hand in a Christian’s life.  We must learn to always forgive others and to ask for forgiveness ourselves.  Without repentance, we are liable of judgment from God.  If we withhold forgiveness to others, forgiveness will also be withheld from us.  Here are 7 prayers focusing on forgiveness and repentance.  May we all strive to live as holy as possible by allowing the Spirit to convict us of our sins and to forgive others that sin against us.

Forgive Me

Father,

There are no words to express how filthy I feel every time I break Your heart.  The guilt and the shame are overwhelming!  Lord, I need Your touch right now.  I am so sick of being “born again” and still doing the things I hate doing.  Like Paul, I am conflicted.  “For I do not do what I want, but do the very thing that I hate.” (Romans 7:15) I am so sorry!  Father, I ask for Your forgiveness right now.  I am shocked that my life has come to a point where even some sins don’t affect me at all.  Father, I have some hard layers on my heart that need peeling.  Please give me a 100% heart of flesh.  The hardness is a barrier between us that I can’t stand!  I love You and I am so regrettably sorry for my selfish actions.  Thank You for Your forgiveness, Lord.  Without forgiveness I am nothing.  With Your forgiveness I am whole again.  I praise Your Name!  Amen

Strength To Forgive Others

Holy Lord,

With Your forgiveness I am whole again. I praise Your Name! Amen

I can’t seem to shake the harm that’s been done to me off my shoulders.  I am wallowing in the anger I feel.  Lord, I shouldn’t think the vengeful thoughts that I have.  You have called me to forgive every single person that wrongs me.  I need Your strength to overcome these trespasses against me.  Father, I want to forgive these people.  Please cast the devil’s evil ways from me.  I want to look at these people and see lost souls that need You.  I want to forgive them completely so that You can use me however You wish, to be Jesus to them.  Father, I am done with holding these grudges!  Forgive me for holding on to them.  I cast this burden at Your throne now.  Do with me as you please Father.  I love You and thank you for Your patience with me.  Amen

Why Lord?

Beautiful Lord,

Why do You forgive us?  We shout praises to You when we sing worship.  With the same tongue we curse other people that are made in Your image. (James 3:9 reference)  Why do You forgive us?  We say we love You and still keep sinning.  Why do You forgive us?  We spend time in prayer thanking You for your blessings and then we refuse to bless others.  Why do You forgive us?  We read our Bibles when we make time for it, but we also read other nonsense that is offensive to You.  Why do You forgive us?  We praise Jesus for His death on the cross for the atonement of our sins and then we nail Him to it again every time we trespass against You.  Why do You forgive us every single time?  I am so thankful for your endless supply of forgiveness!  I can’t fathom how You do it, for I am only one man.  You do this for every single person!  The compassion and grace and mercy that flow from You is absolutely amazing and I love You for it!  Thank you so much for forgiving me every time I sin!  You are worthy to be praised!  Amen

Repentance From Unbelievers

Father in heaven,

My heart grieves for those close to me that do not want to know You.  They are lost souls wandering wherever the devil takes them.  They are fulfilling their own desires of the flesh instead of yearning for the life that You give.  Father, use me or anyone that You please to show Christ-like love to them.  Father, I love these men and women and to think of them in eternal torment is tormenting me!  I pray that the seeds that are planted in them Lord will be grown by You.  You make miracles happen every day and I pray that You make one today in the lives of the lost.  I praise Your Holy Name!  Amen

Forgiveness For Children

Father,

Just as Job continually offered burnt offerings to you for the forgiveness of his children, (Job 1:5) I am praying for the forgiveness of mine.  Lord, only You know what they have done.  If they have sinned against You I pray that You would forgive them.  I pray that they would seek repentance to make things right with You.  Lord, if there is any sin that needs to be forgiven, I pray that You would soften their hearts and bring them safely into Your arms of grace and mercy.  I thank you for Your unlimited love for us!  Amen

Our Leaders

Omnipotent Father,

You are all-powerful!  Even Your thoughts produce action.  I pray for our leaders in the government.  Lord, they also have power, though it is limited.  I pray that they would use their positions wisely, for You are the One who has allowed them to lead us.  We need strong men and women of faith in these kinds of roles.  I pray that our men and women in authority will strive to live godly lives and to repent when necessary.  As in Animal Farm, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  If there is any corruption, I pray that our leaders would repent and ask for forgiveness, so that our country doesn’t fall apart.  I thank you for our leaders and pray for their safety.  I love you Father!  Amen

Our Pastors

Dear Lord,

I pray for pastors around the world.  If there is any un-confessed sin active in their lives, I pray that You would bring them to the deepest valleys if that is what it takes to get them back on the narrow path.  We need strong pastors leading our congregations.  I pray that You would use the people closest to their pastors to keep them accountable, Lord.  Accountability is a must in every Christian’s life.  I thank you for our pastors, Lord, for they have a huge role to play here on earth.  They have many big responsibilities and I am so grateful that they accept the challenges of pastoring.  I love You, Lord!  Amen

Conclusion

Forgiveness is absolutely necessary in a Christian’s walk with the Lord.  “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” (Luke 11:4)  God bless you as you live a life worthy of the calling!

Have you read this other article about prayer?

What Does the Bible Say About Prayer?

Resources –  The Holy Bible, English Standard Version “Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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Six Prayers of Repentance

In chapter twenty-six of Soul Physicians, I outline a biblical theology of putting off the old manner of life (compare Ephesians 4:17-19). I embed within that theology a “Prayer of Repentance” related to each of six areas of our spiritual life:

• Our Relationship to God

• Our Relationship to Others

• Our Relationship to Ourselves

• Our Rational Beliefs/Mindsets

• Our Volitional Behaviors/Motivations

• Our Emotions

Today’s post shares these six prayers.

A Prayer of Relational Repentance: My Spiritual Relationship to God

“Father, I come home to You. I confess as sin my false lovers. I confess as sin living like the old person that I used to be. I confess as sin my spiritual adultery. I acknowledge to You and to myself that my false lovers are horrible lovers and that my pursuit of them is ugly and putrid. How foolish of me to ever believe that anyone but You could ever satisfy the longings of my soul. How shameful. How disrespectful. Forgive me my relational sin. I acknowledge that You alone are my Supreme Good. I acknowledge that You alone are gracious and compassionate. I return to You as my Forgiving Father. I return to Your Son as my Worthy Groom. I return to Your Holy Spirit as my Inspiring Mentor. I love You, Lord. Renew my vision of You as a totally competent and totally good God—boundless in holy love.”

A Prayer of Relational Repentance: My Social Relationships to Others

“Father, I confess as sin my living for self, loving self. I will put off shepherding myself and focus on shepherding others. I reject all the self sins: self-sufficiency, self-promotion, self-protection, selfishness, self-centeredness. I confess as sin my cruel, harsh, manipulative, demanding, shaming, blaming, maiming way of treating others. Most of all, I confess as sin how far I’ve moved from reflecting You and Your radically other-centered Trinitarian existence. I am putting off the flesh, the characteristic ways I used to relate and I’m putting on the Spirit, the new me created to relate like You.”

A Prayer of Relational Repentance: My Identity in Christ

“Father, I’ve been so like Adam and Eve. Running. Hiding. Defensive. Playing dress up. All because I don’t believe You are who You say You are—the Forgiving Father. What sin! I put off my shame identity. I reject my sense of abandonment, ruin, rejection, and condemnation. I put off my futile attempts to quiet my inner restlessness. Instead, I rest in You. I rest in who I am in Christ and to Christ. It’s ugly of me to try to beautify myself. It’s a slap in the face to Your Son, my Savior. Forgive me. Cleanse me. Enlighten me by Your Holy Spirit to grasp how much You love me and how loving You are.”

A Prayer of Rational Repentance: Putting Off My Old Beliefs and Mindsets

“Father, I’ve finally come to my senses. I confess as sin my foolish belief that I can make life work apart from You. I’ve arrogantly suppressed the truth of how perfectly well You care for me. I’ve denied Your fatherly love for me. I’ve sinned against You by believing Satan’s (the False Seducer) smaller story, fleshly mindset that You are not my Supreme Good. I’ve allowed my view of reality to become filled with contemptuous images of You. I’ve allowed my mind to be squeezed into the mold of this temporal world, living according to the dominant plot theme of the earthly story. I’ve been like a deaf man straining to hear the Gospel story. I’ve denied the Cross. I return to You now repenting of these idols of my heart. Though I am not worthy in myself to be called Your child, by faith I claim my adoption in Christ. Thank You for forgiving me.”

A Prayer of Volitional Repentance: Putting Off My Old Behaviors and Motivations 

“Father, I’ve sinned against You by walking in the way of the sinner, by following the self-centered pathway of _______. I must put off choosing compulsively and put on choosing courageously. I must put off the old enslaved pathways and put on my new free, empowering pathways. Help me to quit coddling, cuddling, pampering, and spoiling my flesh. Empower me to be ruthlessly fierce in rejecting it and nailing it to the Cross. Reveal my secret sins, show me the patterns that I’m blind to, help me to detect my fleshly pathways. I reject my fleshly inclinations, patterns, and character. I put on the new characteristic of _________. I reject my characteristic approach to life of _________ and by Christ’s resurrection power I replace it with my new manner of life.”

A Prayer of Emotional Repentance: Putting Off My Old Mood States

“Father, I’ve sinned against You by worshipping feelings instead of worshipping You. My current mood state of _______ exposes how desperately I’m trying to live without You. My failure to face my feelings expose my distrust in Your ability to care for me. My refusal to soothe my soul in You exposes my doubts about Your goodness. I put off my emotional duplicity replacing it, in the power of Your Spirit, with emotional integrity. I will face whatever I feel and bring it to You. I put off my emotional lasciviousness. I put off indulging my fleshly passions. I confess as sin my addiction to ___________. I recognize it for what it is: a symptom of the deeper disorder within me, a spiritual, relational, mental, willful disorder. Forgive me. Empower me to manage my moods for Your glory and the good of others.”

The Rest of the Story

The Bible never tells us to put off without also telling us how God empowers us to put on the new person we are in and through Christ. Tomorrow we share six prayers of renewal.

Join the Conversation

Which of the six prayers hits home the most for you today? How would you word your prayer in that area?

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What is repentance? The great fathers of the church wrote a lot about how important it is for every person to confess his sins and how the Christian prayer of repentance facilitates the soul.

Repentance is the most important thing for every Christian

Anthony of Sourozh, the Monk Abba Dorotheus, Isaac the Syrian and other holy ascetics in the sermons did not tire of inviting believers to humility and repentance in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can say: “I did not kill anybody, I did not steal – I have nothing to repent of. Others much more than I have sinned, but do not repent. “

The Lord left us the commandment “love one another.” What is Christian love? Many “churched” people say that love is doing good to each other. But what is good? Is it always what we do, meaning how good is good in the Christian and human sense? Alas, sometimes what we presumptuously call good, is the beginning of a great disaster or the reason for the villainy. This is clearly seen on the example of parenting.

The deceitfulness of the worldly understanding of good deeds and the distorted idea of ​​love

It happens that parents, loving their child, protect him from difficulties, not accustoming to work. It is quite obvious that in this way they prepare a nutrient medium for the development of vices and create prerequisites for the sad future of their child. Is it possible to call such a relationship a child love? A loving parent will find time and opportunity to teach the child to read books. If you read aloud in turn, one paragraph, then the child will be happy to join this lesson. Just do not rush it and interrupt it. It is also delicate to introduce a baby into the world of cooking, handicrafts, crafts, etc.

There is another extreme. These are the cases when parents scold for the slightest oversights of even very young children. As a rule, behind the harsh and demanding attitude towards the child is hiding annoyance and annoyance at the fact that there is no possibility to live only for oneself. In the worst case, a severe attitude towards the baby is the projection of his attitude towards all people. In this situation, love has also long been transformed into other feelings. On the example of the same reading, it’s easy to see whether the child’s parent is in love or not.

The loss of love is a misfortune in which man himself is guilty.

The loss of the ability to love is a great sin, requiring repentance

How does the prayer of repentance relate to the examples described above? The most direct. We all want to have good relations with our children, we want them to love us, so that we can trust them, and they trust us, we want that from the very birth of our children and until our death we had warm relations, mutual understanding , trust, respect, care and friendship. All these definitions can be combined and called one common word – love. Yes, yes, we all want love, for so is established by the commandment given by God. The Lord has given us the will. He placed man above all creatures on earth, for he allowed decisions and made choices.

Not being able to dispose of the multitude of possibilities we, believing that the love given to us two thousand years ago, a priori, to violate her. Making a choice, we are torn between friends, spouse, children, parents. Not meeting the expected reaction, we are offended, disappointed, angry and depressed. We forget that friends, parents, children and spouses are in the same position as ourselves. They are not gods, and the same restless souls like you and me. Our prayer of repentance is the cry of the soul who have lost touch with God. Focusing on the mundane, we emptied our souls. “If I speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a sounding cymbal”. These words are known to many. They are taken from the first Apostolic letter of Paul to the Corinthians. To know we know, but not feel. Further in this same letter, we explain what love is like it is.

“Love is long-suffering, merciful, love does not envy, love does not boast, it is not proud. Do not be rude, do not seek your own, do not get irritated, do not think evil.
  He does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. Everything covers, believes everything, believes everything, tolerates everything. “

So the Lord loves us. And do we love anyone at least a little as much as God loves us? Hardly. Such love is peculiar to a person while he is a child. Over the years, we lose the ability to love so much.

How should I repent?

Prayer of repentance to Jesus Christ asking to forgive all sins – intentional and unintentional. That prayer had the power, you should examine their life analytically unthink about what the face of God we did not. Saying “I repent that snapped at Ivan Ivanovich”, think and remember what made you not this behavior. Try to spin a ball, doskias to the root cause. Do focus on your personal involvement. Mentally communicating with God, do not shift the blame on other people. Because in your heart you know that blame themselves. Mutual love with all people is possible only after acceptance in your heart of love for God.

Why, after reading the penitential prayer, do some see no change in their lives?

A wise, full of divine love and mercy, the people argue so: “the Prayer of repentance and forgiveness are one and the same and the same. Ispovedoval and confessing their sins before God, we receive His forgiveness”. Perhaps this is the case. But why in this case, troubles are all the same do not depart for good? Perhaps because the repentance must be active, i.e. must be evidenced by some acts, besides prayer?

Russian monarchs always bowed their heads before the Lord

Even Russian tsars, the anointed of God, from time to time retired in monasteries, where under the guidance of a confessor, they were given the sacrament of confession and repentance. The prayer of repentance has great power. Completed with complete destruction of the heart, it transforms a person’s personality, changes his mentality. Confession of sins is a difficult matter. Repenting, revealing their sin is shameful and scary. Pride does not allow you to admit weaknesses, but everyone has pride. Without prayer work on the person, it grows like a cancerous tumor and strikes the mind with metastases. It is these hopelessly spiritually sick people who say with a skeptical tone: “Prayer, sins, repentance – this is only idle or stupid”.

Sinned – repented. It’s so easy

There is an atheist and another stereotype concerning believers. “Everything is simple with you: sinned – repented. We can assume that there was nothing. ” They believe that the prayer of repentance and forgiveness spoken out loud or to themselves acts like the “Sesame, reveal!” Spell in the fairy tale about Ali Baba and the forty robbers. This can be heard even from fully educated people.

How does repentance, brought to God, appear in real life?

Repentance overturns a person’s consciousness so much that he no longer repeats the sin in which he repents. This is not because he is ashamed or afraid of a priest who scolds him at the next confession and calls him a weakling who has not managed to cope with himself. Not at all. The prayer of repentance to Jesus Christ really has sacred properties. This is confirmed by the following experiment. To carry out the experiment, two vessels with clean water were taken. On one was read a prayer to Jesus Christ, the Theotokos or the saint, and over the other the names of famous villains were pronounced. The ice crystals in the first case turned out to be very beautiful, symmetrical, and in the second they acquired the appearance of piles of ugly broken pieces.

Short prayer of great strength

A simple and short prayer of repentance, consisting of four words: “Lord, forgive me, a sinner,” has tremendous power. The Lord hears her. He reads in the heart of a person how sincere his conversion is, and decides what kind of transformation of his personality and destiny a person can take.

Very often a small sin becomes a big lesson. Man, having sinned in a small and having suffered in this occasion from remorse, appeals to God for forgiveness. Such a prayer of repentance to the Lord takes great trouble, just as unrepentant sin always leads to even greater. This usually happens to children.

Adults prayer of repentance to Jesus Christ often pronounced formally, without a strong contrition of the heart. For this reason, they are not able to feel the full force of her actions, even though formal prayer is always audible Lord and receives a response. In addition, many adults have little trust in the Providence of the Creator and stubbornly dictate to Him his vision of a happy life.

Is there a better prayer for a specific problem?

We ask friends, who knows the most effective prayer for all occasions? What is the Akathist image to get an “excellent” score on the exam? Which of the saints will help solve housing problems? Who will attract buyers to the unprofitable store? What holy will heal from the disease? The best prayer is repentance in pride. An adult, without noticing it, is rarely able to critically and objectively evaluate his life. He sees many things in a distorted way. What causes his joy and pride, sometimes is not expensive in the eyes of the Creator, and what he did is almost mechanically, without giving much importance, becomes that “crust of bread of the publican”, which saved his soul from eternal suffering.

How to prepare for confession and repentance?

Prayer before repentance is important. Before confession, read the “our father”, “hail Mary”, “King of heaven”, the “Symbol of Faith”. Say these prayers in order to tune in to a conversation with God, to turn away from everyday worries and think about what thought, what care you want to convey to the Father in Heaven.

If it is difficult and terrible to get down to God, ask for strength and determination from the Blessed Virgin. The prayer of repentance of the Mother of God is no less effective than the prayer addressed to Jesus Christ.

Learn to seek and find the Image of the Creator in His creations, and then your soul will become happy and calm, and peace, love and grace will reign in your home.

Interesting:

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