“If I had not confessed the sin in me, the Lord would not have listened.” Psalm 66:18

A few weeks ago this stopped me in my tracks. And as I sit, it comes back. Like it’s sticky and I need to sit with it a while rather than fly past it. So I look closer at the words.

“Not confessed” also translated as “regarded”, means to “see” in an accepting way, approving way.

There are several different words in Hebrew for “sin”. This one is often translated as “iniquity”. Connected to its meaning is idol, the striving exerting, (worship in a way, giving one’s heart) toward something that ends up being empty, in vain. It means sorrow and adverse circumstances.

The words used refer to the sin “in me”. It’s the sense that the root in the heart is what needs to be dealt with as a cause of the external action of sin.

“…the Lord would not have listened” – We know God knows and hears all things, but the language used gives the sense that He would not have have heeded, responded to David’s prayer.

So, what’s percolating as I’m stuck on this, is that if I see ways I am giving myself to other things/people other than God, looking to be filled by them, and continue to keep doing so, God is not going to respond to my crying out. We’re in essence saying, “I want to keep looking to this other thing and want your help at the same time,” and He is not participating with that. It’s like we’re trading what God could be and do for us, because we want to keep our “iniquity.” The thing that brings “sorrow.”He loves us too much to bless our “sin”. He wants us to understand what is truly hurting us.

If Scripture is ‘God-breathed’ for our learning, our “training in standing rightly before God,” what does He want us to know? What does He want us to know about Him? About us? About our sin?

I’m reminded of how awesomely truths are intertwined throughout Scripture. In the book of James it says,

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

There is a clear connection between confessing, turning from our sin and the impact/power of our prayers. God heeding and moving on our behalf.

As so many roads for me lead back to this truth. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

God we want your help, we need your help. Thank you for Jesus who provided for our forgiveness and healing and wholeness.

Only He can take any thing in our lives that turned out to be sorrow, anything that turned out to be “for nothing” and turn it into fullness, richness, healing and wholeness.

What is our next step?