“The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him”
On the first day of our fasting and prayer, we talked about three things I like to instill in a child as he/she grows up; thanks, please, and sorry. On this second day of our prayer/fasting, we will go before God in simple terms and tell him we are sorry for anything we have done wrong as individuals, family, church, community, city, country, etc. When we come it HIM, we must take a very simple method because according to his word in Deuteronomy 4:31 “The LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not abandon you, destroy you, or forget the promise to your ancestors that he swore he would keep.” We can trust him to forgive according to 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Even if we have not directly committed a particular sin, being in that family, that nation, that church, etc., makes us part of it, and we must stand like Daniel to cry out to the Lord.
Confess the sins of our parents and ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness: Nehemiah 9:17 “They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders you performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.”
Confess the generations’ sins of the families we came from and ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness: Numbers 14:18 “The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’ 19Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”
Confess generational worship of idols in our family lineage and ask God for mercy and forgiveness: Deuteronomy 5:8-9 “8You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me”.
Confess our own sins and ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness: Jeremiah 14:7 “Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You”. Daniel 9:5 “we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinance.”
Confess the sins of our children and ask for mercy and forgiveness: If we don’t deal with issues surrounding our children, we can face the same consequences as Ali the priest: 1 Samuel 2:17 “Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD's offering with contempt.”
Confess our sins toward the ministers of the Gospel. Ask God to show mercy and forgive us in the areas where we have erred in our relationships with the minsters of the Gospel. Sometime we have used our mouths to say things that are not correct about ministers of the gospel: Deuteronomy 17:12 “But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel”.
Confess the sins of the church and ask for mercy and forgiveness regarding disobedience toward the leadership in church and community: Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
Confess the sins of the ministers of the gospel and ask for forgiveness and mercy: Jeremiah 23:2 “Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord.”
Confess the sin of the leaders of the nations and ask God for mercy and forgiveness. They have not served God correctly: Psalms 2:10-11 - Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.
Thank God for his forgiveness and mercy: Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”