The Prayer of Contrition

Contrition (def) - the state of feeling remorseful and penitent. Matthew 6: ⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. A prayer of contrition is a very personal prayer that is a communication between you and the God who saved you. It is done in secret and should be a prayer where we openly confess our sins to God and repent personally to Him.

You may have a "prayer closet" where you go to the Father without interruption and not only confess, but also ask God to intervene in a certain situation. There is nothing "magical" about going to a closet, because it is just a helpful instruction from God to make getting alone with Him, uninterrupted, the priority. Why make prayer so religious when it is meant to be so personal and "real?" Scripture calls us to pray from a heart that is bent toward God and God alone.

A

clear example of the prayer elements that are best to communicate with God is given by Jesus in what we call The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. Matthew 6: ⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.¹² And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.¹³ And lead us not into temptation,^[a]    but deliver us from the evil one. The elements or heart of this prayer are easily seen, and they are: 1. Who we are praying to is God. 2. We admit God is the only one worthy of our prayer (hallowed). 3 We yearn for the second coming of Jesus, and for the will of God to be done. 4 It would be great to have some heavenly things happening all around us. 5 If we woke up, we would be breathing again, and we know God supplies life and food. 6 Forgiveness is a reality for those who are in Christ Jesus and live in the grace of God, and what a great reminder every day that we are living in grace and not indicted by Satan. 7 All our debts are forgiven, so we forgive with a heart that has received that forgiveness and extend it to others. 8 Since we are thinking and forgiving as forgiven people, we don't fall into the temptation trap to be God, by getting our justice in life. 9 Our battle is against spiritual forces; our thinking should be in spiritual thoughts about how to handle Satan.

Jesus expounded on every bit of what this prayer says, and the elements do not overwhelm the penitent cry of a believer who is communicating with God. Contrition is God's way of "waking us up" again to the fact that we need Him every moment of every day and acknowledging that "He is here." Paul recommended praying "without ceasing," and I am of his camp as well. This is the fuel of our pilgrimage, and we will grow closer to God every time we come to Him in secret, because He will always meet us there. What is driving you to pray? Perhaps it is contrition. Let it take its course, and pure, spiritual growth will be the result.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren