Nehemiah 9:1-2 NKJV
“Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads. Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.”
INSIGHT
-Confess in Hebrew is written as nekar which means to ask for mercy. Confession is expressing true remorse and it entirely depends on God’s mercy. It also means to denounce every foreign idol from the context of the above scripture. Nehemiah confronted corporate sin by instituting a fast and confessing it publicly. He also lead the people in confessing not only their sins but the sins of their fathers who practiced idolatry. Throughout this book, we find the theme of confession and returning to God. Nehemiah also symbolically leads the people in rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple wall.
PRAYER
Our great and awesome God, You are Good and Your mercies endures forever. You are awesome God in all the heavens and the earth. May You forgive us all our sins and wash us with Your precious blood,
we humbly implore You. May You show us Your mercy and forgive us, forgive our fathers, forefathers, relatives, leaders, nation, nation of Morocco, China, South Korea, Russia, Ukraine, and all the nations of the world. May You deliver all the war torn countries, and those that are faced with natural calamities. May Your mercy overlook judgement merciful Savior. May You have mercy on us and on the whole world. You are a covenant keeping God, have mercy dear Lord Jesus. May Your ear be attentive to us and Your eyes open to us Your children. May You guide our steps throughout this week and prosper all our ways according to Your enduring love and grace. Amen
Further reading: Nehemiah 1:5-6
1 John 1:8-10 NKJV
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
INSIGHT
-Confession must be personal. God looks at the heart of men to transform and mold us according to His will and purpose. As God convicts us of sin that is hindering our fellowship with Him, we must confess it and receive forgiveness and cleansing for our relationship with God to continue without hindrance for His grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness. King David confessed his sin when he went astray, as he was called a man after God’s own heart even from before his election. Confession brings us to a place of humility before God. Even though we were forgiven through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, it is also the place where we find the mercy, grace, peace and love of Christ. It is a place of victory over sin and death, and declare that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER
Have mercy upon me merciful Savior, according to Your lovingkindness, according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight, that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O Lord, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, these O God, You will not despise. Amen
Further reading: Psalms 51:14-17, Psalms 40:6-8
James 5:16 NKJV
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
INSIGHT
-Confession of trespasses among brethren and interceding for one another causes healing. We realize that the heaviest burdens that people carry are not external but internal, these are the burdens of the heart. When sin is exposed, it relieves the heart from uncommon strain that would be a cause for stress, depression and other related illnesses. The concept of counseling and psychotherapy originates from this foundation. People carry heavy loads of un-forgiveness, un-confessed sin, hurt and other heart strains. Confession among brethren also brings forth the aspect of accountability partners who are responsible for correcting one another in humility that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil by the power of God’s grace (2 Timothy 2:24-26).
PRAYER
Abba Father we come to Your throne of grace with humility that we may find mercy and grace to help us during our time of need. We need You dear Lord Jesus that You may have mercy on us and grant us peace. May You forgive us and wash us with Your precious blood. We surrender all our burdens and cares unto You Jesus for You care for us. Your burden is light and Your yoke is easy. May You give us rest for our souls. May You grant all those who are struggling with unforgiveness and unrepented sin, Your grace and sure peace dear Lord Jesus. May You deliver all those who are suffering from addictions in drugs and alcohol, sexual immorality, gambling etc., merciful Savior. May You heal all those who are sick and suffering dear Jesus. All and glory and honor belongs to You dear Jesus now and forever. Amen
Further reading: Galatians 6:1, Matthew 11:28-30
1 Timothy 6:11-14 NKJV
“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,”
INSIGHT
-Jesus’ testified before Pontius Pilate and made a good confession. In John 18:37 we see Jesus having a conversation with Pilate saying, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Jesus’ statement confused Pilate since he did not know what the truth is. Jesus reminds us in John 14:6-7, that He is the way the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. Also, that those who know Him, know the Father. Timothy’s confession of faith at his baptism during Paul’s first missionary journey. This being the mission month, we have been called to make a good confession of Jesus Christ and the truth of the gospel to all as the Lord leads us and the salvation power will reach the lost. God also calls us to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness, and abandon the love of money which is the root of all evil.
PRAYER
You are the Way, the Truth and the Life dear Jesus no one comes to the Father except through You. May You have mercy on us and on the all Your people. May You grant access to all people that we may come through Your Door of salvation. You are the Door to salvation may You grant us peace and grace to come to You and know You. May You grant us Your grace and strength to preach Your gospel of truth, dear Jesus. May You anoint us afresh to preach Your gospel of light that many may know You and come to You dear Jesus. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few, may You touch many hearts and lips to preach Your gospel dear Jesus. You are our Good Shepherd, may You lead us to those You want us to minister to, and may You touch their hearts to receive You. You have called us and given us authority to trample over snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy, and nothing will surely harm us, thank You dear Lord Jesus for loving us and choosing us. May You protect us, cover us with Your blood, provide for us, preserve us, grant us Your gifts and fruit Holy Spirit even as we do the work of Your kingdom. We love You Lord and honor You, and it is in Jesus mighty name we pray believing and trusting. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Further reading: Mark 16:15
Acts 19:18-20 NIV
“Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”
INSIGHT
-Ephesus was a center for magical incantations. The magicians kept documents bearing alleged formulas and secret information, having been unearthed. After the gospel was preached, they sacrificed the valuable magical scrolls and burnt them as they focused on the word of God. The gospel of Christ spread and grew in power among those who practiced sorcery.
SUMMARY
Confess in Hebrew is written as nekar which means to ask for mercy. Confession is expressing true remorse and it entirely depends on God’s mercy. Sin separates us from God and it is vital to confess and repent. Where iniquity exists, God is separated from us and He hides His face from us and does not hear us (Isaiah 59:2). It is paramount therefore to confess our sins and trespasses, and repent turning to God. 1 John 1:8-10 reminds us that, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” God calls us to make a good confession with sincere hearts and He is willing to forgive us and deliver us from every evil. Nehemiah led the Israelites in repentance with sack clothes and ashes, and they fasted confessing their sins and those of their forefathers who committed idolatry before God (Nehemiah 9:1-2). He then led the people in rebuilding the Jerusalem temple, thus re-instituting the worship of the one true God. God calls us to flee from the love of money which is the root of all evil and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fighting the good fight of faith, that we may lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:11-14). God also calls us to go and make disciples in all the nations (Matthew 28:19-20), preaching the gospel that many may come to Christ for the glory and honor of His name.
PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus we give You praise and honor. There is no other God but You in all the heavens and the earth. Thank You for the victory that You have won for us on the cross. Thank You for Your blood and salvation power. No weapon fashioned against us shall prosper no tongue that accuses us shall prevail in the name of Jesus Christ, for this is our heritage in Christ. We are more that victorious in You Christ Jesus. May You fight for us dear Jesus and grant us success in every sphere of our lives. May You grant us peace economically, financially, socially, biologically, physically, emotionally and spiritually. May You break every chain that comes to hinder our progress with Your blood Jesus. May You level every mountain and make us succeed in every way Abba Father for the battle belongs to You. May You forgive us all our sins and trespasses, and remove every accusation against us, our families, fathers, forefathers, churches, leaders and nation. May You grant us rest and heal our land. May Your revival reach every soul and nation according to Your great purposes. May Your will prevail over all. May grant us the fruit of love and self control precious Holy Spirit. May You be exulted above all other gods. May You bless us Lord and keep us. May You shine Your face towards us and be gracious unto us. May You shine Your countenance unto us and grant us peace. Amen
Further reading: Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans10:9-10