Honesty is a key ingredient to relationship with God.
Prayer isn’t about perfect theology — it’s about radical honesty.
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Genesis 3:6-13
When we sin, we tend to hide & blame.
Hiding and blaming is counterproductive.
God already knows and comes looking for us.
Dodging our sin is detrimental to our well-being.
When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Psalm 32:3-5
Bottom Line
God invites us to bring all our guilt into his merciful presence.
The more honest we are about sin, the more deeply we experience God’s love.
A Prayer Process for When You’re in a Panic:
- Confess it
- Lament it
- Receive forgiveness
- Recommit yourself to Jesus
Action Steps
Prayer - create some prayerful space to reflect on your experience with guilt:
- How did I experience mistakes and wrongdoings in my first formation?
- When am I most tempted to hide (from God & others) or blame (God & others)?
- Is there anything that I’m hiding right now that I need to acknowledge?
Practice - take a sin or sinful pattern in your life and work the steps:
- Confess it — name it honestly before God
- Lament it — grieve the harm and the loss
- Receive forgiveness — don’t rush past grace
- Recommit yourself to Jesus — turn back toward life
