Daniel 8-10, 3 John • Key Verses: Daniel 9:4-5

Remember this phrase—“Confession is good for the soul”? It seems like we readily agree with that statement, especially when we are trying to get someone else to confess! At the same time, it’s quite possible that the least frequently offered prayer is one of confession. We do best with requests, remember to at least say thanks, are possibly passable with the amount of worship in our praying, but fail miserably in regard to confession.

So if you agree that confession is good for the soul, when was the last time you practiced it?
One of the great prayers of the Bible is in Daniel 9. Daniel offered it in response to reading Scripture. He understood what the Word said, and it affected him tremendously. He prayed, fasted and confessed.

Read again carefully this prayer of Daniel. Note the request portion. It is very short, toward the end and really no more than one phrase —“turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill” (9:16). Then immediately Daniel returns to confession.

Our prayers should be balanced. They should include worship, thanksgiving, requests and confession. It is not necessary that each prayer have all four, but as we examine our prayer life, all should be evident, including confession.

Think now about your prayer life. Perhaps it isn’t much. (That is a subject all its own to consider!) Whatever the current condition is of your prayer life, do you confess?
“Father, right now I need to confess that…”

Woodrow Kroll & Tony beckett
www.backtothebible.in