Confession

It is important for me to name my sin and admit it to God. Without this naming and admission, repentance is very difficult. James instructs us to confess to one another. Jesus taught us to go to the offended brother, and then come to the altar. Making a regular practice of confession, to God, to one another, to the person who gives us spiritual guidance, will allow us to keep the Devil from using unconfessed sin against us in our heart and in the heart of others. I find it helpful to have a written prayer of confession that I pray each morning (or each night) that has a place to pause in silence and consider what sin of omission or commission needs to be confessed.