The Prayer of Confession and Declaration

“For if the fire be without heat, or the burning lamp without light, then true Faith may be without fervent Prayer.” ~John Knox.

Such a voluminous task is that of defining prayer, but utterances toward God, for help and of praise and thanks, they may basically be.

The prayer of confession and declaration is the power of the living God vested and manifested in us by the fervency of our devotion. This is especially true, per John Knox, when either the fire of oppression or the burning lamp of the Presence of the living Lord is kindled keenly within.

These states make our prayers more fervent.

A Prayer Replete with Strength

Such a prayer subsumes all the negatives of the world, the flesh, and Satan; it also evokes the divine sponsorship of the living Lord in the manner of strength mysteriously unknown to the consciousness of humankind.

The prayer of confession and declaration is, hence, a warrior’s battle vouchsafed in victory both ways. That is, to crush the negative and empower the positive.

Confession

The mastery in confession—a regaling and sincere honesty before the Lord—uncouples the grip of the world over us, it quells in a moment the striding fancy of our flesh, and it depowers the spirit of Satan to null.

Ever so simple, we approach the Lord. In half a second we have commenced our confession; we are led swiftly to repentance and are, therefore, delivered.

Protection in the Almighty is afforded in the mode of confession—an indemnity everlasting as the moment contends—and it’s the answer to every spiritual ill. It is the answer as we reach for strength, and it leads to capitalisation: an upgrade to the mode of declaration.

Declaration

From a position of relative strength—that on loan from the Lord, by the prayer of confession—we go on and stabilise that strength, making it our own, to extend this moment of salvation.

We declare victory, once again in Jesus’ Sovereign name, over the evil that tempts to overthrow us.

We take heed of the gargantuan volume of promises of the Lord in the living Word. In each book of the Bible there are on average 5–10 promises we can bank on. And we read the Word on account of this, trusting all will be well—for the Word declares it!

And we find a way to refresh this mode of declaration as our day ensues; noting that once strength is rekindled we daren’t let that flame turn into a smoulder. We fan it and stoke the fire within as we check ourselves frequently.

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The prayer of confession and declaration recalls a golden truth; our living God has absolute dominion. When we pray we enlist not the least of the Lord’s entire realm. The irony of this power is it’s greatest when we’re weakest.

“Satan trembles when he sees

The weakest saint upon his knees.”

~William Cowper, Olney Hymns, 1779.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.