A Prayer About Guilt

A prayer about Guilt

When feelings of guilt keep me from believing that I am forgiven

Father,

Sometimes when I confess my sin to you, all seems well. But other times, even though I’m repentant and have laid my wrongs before you, I still feel guilty. Your Word, in 1 John 1:9, tells me that you are faithful to forgive my sins when I confess them, so I know that the problem is not with you but with me. I know that it’s not your will for me to try to atone for my sin by feeling guilty and miserable. You have already cleansed me through Jesus’ sacrifice! Please help me to trust that you forgive me. Like the immoral woman who washed your feet, may I accept your forgiveness by faith and respond with a life changed by gratitude. Thank you for freeing me to worship you gratefully, serve you humbly, and express my faith in you boldly.

When a certain immoral woman from that city heard [Jesus] was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. . . . [Jesus said,] “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love.” Luke 7:37-38, 47