We sit down for night-time prayers with our six pack.

We take turns.  Add requests as we go.  Everyone with an opportunity to throw his or her chips into the pot.

cashing in our chips

We go around and ask… each one…

what are you sorry for?

whom can we pray for?

what are you thankful for?

what do you need help with?

The thanks, the praise, the list of requests… roll easily off our tongues.

what are you sorry for?

That’s the tough one… we watch as the young ones squirm in discomfort.  We old ones, squirm a bit, too.

um, everything I did wrong today.

Ok, that sums it up.  Chips cashed in… sorry spoken… slate clean… good to go.  Well, not quite.  More like, squirming avoided.

what are you really sorry for?

Let’s get specific…

Specifically spelling out sin, the things we have done wrong… it is difficult, uncomfortable… we want to throw the chips in… without naming them.  Maybe they’ll just disappear and we can move on, sort of forget about them… and pray that we are covered.  We did say sorry, after all.

Name one thing…

We are all generally a mess… we sinners… we humans.  The gift of forgiveness… in the specific places we need forgiveness… that’s where the humility and the healing live.  Ah, humility, just as soon as her name is mentioned, she darts into the corner… hiding behind pride.  We want to hide behind the generalities…

here are my chips…

can You just get rid of them?

replace them with Your grace and mercy?

No, I don’t really want to pinpoint them… some of them are pretty bad.

Specifically pointing out to God what we have done wrong… although He already knows it… this is a painful thing.  The specifics are where we are honest with ourselves… before Him.  Once we point out the details… the very places we are broken ~ or have broken others… once we point out these details, we find ourselves at a cross-road.  We change… or we disobey.  Obedience is a tough one for our human nature.  The confession, the change, the obedience… they are not about shame.  They are the road to healing.  Healing for our sake, others’ sake, His sake.

You can see God using some lives, but into your life an obstacle has come and you do not seem to be of any use.  Keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you round the obstacle or remove it.  The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles.  Never get your eyes on the obstacle or on the difficulty.  The obstacle is a matter of indifference to the river which will flow steadily through you if you remember to keep right at the Source.

Oswald Chambers

The place we get right with God… this is the place we move the boulder from the river.  Make a clear path for the living water to flow through us.  The water will not be stopped by the boulder, it will find a way around, but the path clear of obstacles is the straightest… clearest path.

I don’t want to be an obstacle to His work… I want to teach my children how to open their road for Him.  The way I know to get to the healing, the clearing of the way, the place of obedience… is by telling Him exactly where I see my mistakes, by asking Him to show me the ones I don’t see so clearly.  Specifically.

Tell Him where you messed up… He knows already.

He’ll get you to the healing place…

If you allow Him into the hidden places.

He already knows.  He is waiting to forgive… as soon as we name our chips.  One.  By.  One.

Great relief.

Proverbs 28:13

He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.