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| Previous Next Scripture tells of many prayers--urgent requests to God for help. In All Things Are Possible, author Daniel Partner tells of devotional meaning in seventy-five of these prayers. Partner's insightful, accessible readings show that no human problem is unique and that God hears believers' prayers. Not only can the answers be miraculous--prayer itself is a miracle. While reading All Things Are Possible, Christians will see their own struggles in the prayers of biblical characters, be encouraged to lift their voices to heaven like the saints of old, and embrace Jesus' promise: "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23 NASB). This devotional employs various translations of Scripture. Soft cover from Barbour Publishing, Inc., copyright 2002 |
"DAY FORTY-TWO"
For our transgressions are multiplied
before thee, and our sins testify against us:
for our transgressions are with us;
and as for our iniquities, we know them;
In transgressing and lying against the
Lord, and departing away from our God,
speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving
and uttering from the heart words of
falsehood... And the Redeemer shall come
to Zion, and unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
- ISAIAH 59:12-13, 20
If Christians were to take biblical prayers as the pattern for their own petitions to God, there would be much more confession of sin among us. Confession is a major topic of scriptural prayer. There must be a reason for this. Did those ancient seekers of God discover that confession of sin is a wonderful thing? I think so. One reason for this is the guarantee of forgiveness. As the apostle John wrote: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9).This potent promise reveals some important things that compelled the biblical seekers to confess. There is more than forgiveness in store for the repentant sinner-there is also cleansing. Unrighteousness is washed away. It is not just covered up, it is not simply forgotten-it is gone. This is nearly inconceivable to us because we have tremendous difficulty forgiving others. Even if we forgive, we cannot forget, much less expunge all trace of the offense. But God does this. There is something even more marvelous in store for those who confess. Forgiveness is embodied in a person. John does not say, "If we confess, we will be forgiven." Rather he says that if we confess, a person responds-"He is faithful and just to forgive" (v. 9). Similarly, Isaiah tells Israel, "The Redeemer shall come to Zion" (Isaiah 59:20). The redeemer is God in Christ. Divine forgiveness and cleansing are reasons enough to confess each and every transgression. Yet we are promised more: Christ, the faithful and righteous redeemer, will personally deliver forgiveness and cleansing to your soul. He is the object of your faith. To God be the glory, great things he hath done, So loved he the world that he gave us his Son, Who yielded his life an atonement for sin, And opened the life-gate that all may go in. O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, To ev'ry believer the promise of God; The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Fanny Crosby (1820-1915)
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