This week’s “My Heart’s Cry” prayer challenge is breaking through the barrier of sin. Notes and quotes from the lesson prepared by Elizabeth Mahusay.
We touched on a few areas of sin, including, sins related to our belief, sins related to our thinking and sins related to our behavior.
Sins related to our belief asks us “Where do I have unbelief?” Do I believe that God has already forgiven my sin? Where am I placing my faith?
One of the passages we looked at was Mark 9:21-24. It says, “Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” ” ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
We need to ask ourselves, do I really believe that God can & will forgive this sin in my life? If we place our faith deeply in God, our prayers will reflect the level and depth of our belief in God. I just read this post on an amazing blog I check occasionally. You have to read the post for January 22, 2010 and see for yourself the BELIEF this story shows. http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/
Sins related to our thinking… Thinking is an act of our will, so what we think is also sin. Yikes! So… thinking that a stranger forgot to look in the mirror before they left the house, judging them on their appearance, (in my mind) is a sin… I’m in T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!! So we (and I) need to address our thinking when we do this. Say something like, this is not of you Lord & think about something else, something of virtue, something that is lovely, something pure…
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
When we have unaddressed sinful thinking, it leads to sinful behavior.
So our next topic is sins related to our behavior… Bad habits can lead to sinful behavior. This is a toughy for me. Watching a TV show which doesn’t neccessarily go along with good moral values and character, can lead to sinful behavior. AHHH!!! but, it’s my guilty pleasure!! This one is a challenge, BUT it can lead to sinful behavior for SOME people. If it’s not a problem and doesn’t affect your (my) behavior, it’s probably okay. At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself for now… So after reading this verse, Psalm 26:2 “Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind”, I will make an effort to determine whether or not I have any behaviors that will result in sin. If I do sin, I will seek forgiveness & not let the moment pass me by.
The last thing we covered was “The Need for Authenticity“. You are in fact what you represent yourself to be! So ask yourself the question??? Am I who I represent myself to be? Do I show who I am in private to those around me? Am I ashamed of any part of me? What can I do to fix it? Am I covering up my real self with the self I show to others? Well, in some ways, I think we all do. It’s human nature to want to look our best & to let everyone think that we are as put together on the inside as we are on the outside, when in fact the inside can be so messy!!
The messiness that I have inside is a reflection of my unconfessed sin. For me, to make my prayer life what it needs to be, I must GET RID of unconfessed sin. My prayer life is hindered by unconfessed sin. It WILL be radically changed when I immediately confess my sin & name them each one my one (and be specific). Once the mess is cleaned up, my prayer life will be more focused. I have got to get rid of all distractions! Distractions in prayer are praying for those things I really don’t care about, something I really don’t want (but He can give me the “want to ” to want to pray for those things). God wants to know my REAL wants and REAL desires. He invites me (us) to pray with blistering honesty… AND He can handle my (our) emotions.
The “Life Application” for this week is to
1. Pray Psalm 139:23-24 23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” And then… on a sheet of paper take time to write down any sins (hidden, unconfessed) that God brings to your mind.
2. Agree with God in prayer that it is wrong. Acknowledge His forgiveness through His death on the cross and then chose to repent asking the Holy Spirit to empower you to change your behavior.
3. Once you have addressed every sin written on your paper then meditate on Colossians 2:13-15 “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
4. Use the truths of Col 2:13-15 to rebuke Satan’s lies or continual accusations over what you have now been forgiven.
5. By faith, believing that God intended the truth of Col 2:13-15 for you as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, destroy your list. Choose to walk in freedom from those past sins.
6. Commit to God from this moment forward to keep a “short account” of your sins with Him by engaging in Spiritual Breathing. http://www.thoughts-about-god.com/meditating/sw_oxygen.htm
You can do this “Life Application” anywhere you feel most comfortable, but I went into the chapel at church and did this. It was such a cool experience to be in the chapel alone with God, my bible, and on my knees in prayer. This is something I had never done before today.

Have a great, prayerful week!!
Melissa