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Method for Prayer NASB First Person

Consider your Evil Sins in Light of your Moral Knowledge and Profession of Faith

Confession 2.15 | NASB

I must aggravate* my sins and take notice of those things which make them more heinous in the sight of God and more dangerous to myself.

I bewail before You all my sins, and all my transgressions in regard to all my sins. Leviticus 16:21(NASB)

The more knowledge I have of good and evil, the greater is my sin.

I have known my Master’s will but have not done it, and therefore deserve to receive many lashes. Luke 12:47(NASB)

I have known the way of the Lord and the ordinances of my God, and yet have broken the yoke and burst the bonds. Jeremiah 5:4-5(NASB)

I have known the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, and yet have done them and have also given hearty approval to those who practice them. Romans 1:32(NASB)

I have taught others, and yet have not taught myself; Romans 2:21(NASB) and while I profess to know God, I have by my deeds denied Him. Titus 1:16(NASB)

The greater profession I have made of religion, the greater has been my sin.

I call myself after the holy city and lean on the God of Israel and invoke His name, but not in truth nor in righteousness. Isaiah 48:1-2(NASB) For I have dishonored that worthy name by which I have been called, Ephesians 4:1 (NASB) and given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. 2 Samuel 12:14(NASB)

I have named the name of the Lord, and yet have not abstained from wickedness. 2 Timothy 2:19(NASB)

* The author means that we must look at our sins in the worst light, to see just how evil they are, taking into account the persons we have offended, the nature of the offense, the circumstances of our sin, etc. See The Westminster Larger Catechism, Questions 150 and 151. Editor.

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Method for Prayer NASB First Person

Acknowledge that Sin is an Affront to the Holy God and Damages the Soul

Confession 2.14 | KJV

The offense which by sin I have given to the Holy God.

By breaking the law I have dishonoured God, Romans 2:23(KJV) and have provoked the Holy One of Israel Isaiah 1:4(KJV) to anger most bitterly. Hosea 12:14(kJV) And many a thing that I have done hath displeased the Lord. 2 Samuel 11:27(KJV)

God has been broken by my whorish heart and my eyes that have gone a whoring after my idols. Ezekiel 6:9(KJV)

I have tempted him and proved him and grieved him in the wilderness; Psalm 95:9-10(KJV) have rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit, Isaiah 63:10(KJV) and pressed him with my iniquities, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. Amos 2:13(KJV)

I have grieved the Holy Spirit of God, by whom I am sealed to the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30(KJV)

The damage which by sin I have done to my own soul and its great interests.

By my iniquities I have sold myself; Isaiah 50:1(KJV) and in sinning against thee, I have wronged my own soul. Proverbs 8:36(KJV)

My sins have separated between me and God, Isaiah 59:2(KJV) and have kept good things from me; Jeremiah 5:25(KJV) and by them, my mind and conscience have been defiled. Titus 1:15(KJV)

My own wickedness hath corrected me, and backslidings have reproved me; and I cannot but know and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that I have forsaken the Lord my God, and that his fear hath not been in me. Jeremiah 2:19(KJV)

O what fools are they that make a mock at sin! Proverbs 14:9(KJV)

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Method for Prayer NASB First Person

Acknowledge the Great Evil of Sin, its Unprofitableness and Deceitfulness

Confession 2.13 | NASB

The unprofitableness of sin.

I have sinned and perverted what is right, and it did not profit me. Job 33:27(KJV)

What benefit have I derived from the things of which I am now ashamed, seeing the outcome of those things is death? Romans 6:21(NASB) And what will it profit me if I gain the whole world and forfeit my soul? Matthew 16:26(NASB)

The deceitfulness of sin.

Sin has deceived me, and through the commandment killed me; Romans 7:11(NASB) for my heart has been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, Hebrews 3:13(NASB) and I have been carried away and enticed by my own lust. James 1:14(NASB)

It has promised me freedom, but has made me a slave of corruption; 2 Peter 2:19(NASB) has promised me that I surely will not die and that I will be like God, Genesis 3:4-5(NASB) but it has flattered me and spread a net for my steps. Proverbs 29:5(NASB)

The arrogance of my heart, particularly, has deceived me. Obadiah 1:3(NASB)