“True confession is always of a specific character, and acknowledges particular sins. They may be of such a nature as to be brought before God only; they may be wrongs that should be confessed to individuals who have suffered injury through them; or they may be of a public character, and should then be as publicly confessed. But all confession should be definite and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which you are guilty.”

—Steps to Christ, p. 38.

Prayer of Confession

Many years ago in Texas, the governor visited the State prison to talk to the prisoners. After his speech, he told the men that if anyone wanted to come and talk with him, he would gladly listen to their story. He promised that he would keep private anything they told him and that nothing they said would be used against them.

One by one the men came up to talk to the governor. They all told him that they were in prison because they had been treated unfairly or that there had been some mistake on someone else’s part. But finally, one man came up and said, “Mr. Governor, I just want to say that I am guilty. I did what they sent me here for. But I believe I have paid for it, and if I were granted the right to go out, I would do everything I could to be a good citizen and prove myself worthy of your mercy.”

Who do you think got the pardon from the governor? That’s right—the man who honestly confessed that he had done wrong. In the same way, when we come to God and admit to Him that we have sinned, He is more than willing to pardon us. The Bible says that “ God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, he will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure” (1 John 1:9 NIrV).

Ellen White explains in the book Steps to Christ, in the chapter called “Confession,” that when we confess our sins to God, we should tell Him exactly what we have done wrong. Sometimes, if others know about our deeds, or if we have hurt a lot of other people, we must confess our sins publicly. But in most cases, we should talk only to God about it. We should feel truly sorry for what we have done, and sincerely ask God to forgive us. If we confess just to avoid punishment, we are not truly sorry forour sins. When we earnestly

confess our sins, we can begin to understand how much God really loves us and the big sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

Have you done something wrong? Tell God honestly that you are sorry. Ask Him to forgive you and to help you to never do it again. And He will. Remember, “Anyone who hides his sins doesn't succeed. But anyone who admits his sins and gives them up finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13, NIrV). That’s a promise!