This message will be the fourth in a series of five.  The series title “Devote yourselves to prayer” is taken from Colossians 4:2.   

So far we have seen:

• Prayer is petition
• Prayer is perspective
• Prayer is partnership
• Prayer is simple
• Prayer is honest
• Prayer is intercession

For this week our focus will be on prayers of confession.  In some Christian traditions confession of sin is built into the structure and flow of liturgical life and obedience to the church.  How do we as a non-liturgical congregation build it into our life together?  We cannot ignore the importance of times of confession… or if we do it is at our own peril.  Our passage from 1 John is a call to live in the light.  Appropriately confessing our sins to God and if need be to one another is one powerful way to do that.