What is Repentance?

This is a continuation of the study on prayer the Lord gave for our "Further in Faith Fellowship" retreat. Further in Faith Fellowship has been formed to facilitate a deeper Faith walk for all who desire to grow and want to be challenged by like-minded people.

The Lord gave me an acronym to follow for this study on prayer. This is the 2nd letter in the word,PRAYER.... "R"

"R" stands for repentance.

We all know that the overall definition of repentance is "to be sorry". Guilt and condemnation will bring us to a place of repentance. Sin is a human condition and we all experience the weight of it. As the saved, our first encounter with our Holy God is in repentance.

Acknowledging our sinful state, we come to the cross where our Savior died in our place and paid the price for our sin as an individual.

Being sorry for our sin is only half of what true repentance is all about. True repentance is "to feel such regret over an action or intention so as to change one's mind."

This is a critical part of repentance and I truly believe that our ignorance of this side of repentance is why we live such defeated lives and with a breech in our intimate love relationship with our Lord.

Once we have been saved, it has been said that our sins are forgiven, past present and future. So is repentance just a onetime action or state of mind to lead us to God's forgiveness and once saved, it's all over?

The Lord showed me something very interesting a little while ago. I was studying the book of Amos. I am relating to a lot of the warnings that God has given throughout His Word through the Prophets of old.

As I was reading in the book of Amos, there was a judgment about to be executed against not only Israel's enemies but upon Israel herself. God was at the end of His patience with the rebellion and disobedience of His people. He had warned them and called to them, but they were willful and chose to ignore the ones He had sent to teach them and even those He sent to warn them.

Amos was a shepherd, not a professional prophet. He was sent by God. As he was getting the message from God about what Holiness was about to do, in the form of visions, Amos was in extreme distress at what he "saw". He cried out to God, almost in protest, and he begged God to stop what He was about to do as seen through those visions of the future. And then, scripture, in the King James Version says, "God repented" for what He was about to do.

This blew my circuits. God is not nor would He ever be "guilty" of anything. His is the standard of all Holiness and Righteousness, so why would the Holy Scriptures say "God repented" except that the word repentance has another side to it than the one we most often think about as it relates to us.

To repent is to change one's course of intended action

It is important in our love relationship to get past the limited definition of repentance that stops at being sorry. To be sorry with no intention or plan for changing direction is very dangerous. We can see from scripture that God ran out of patience with the nations of Israel who would repent when the heat was on but then return to the same violations over and over again.

I think of the people who go to "confession" only because this is a visual we can relate to. Confession is not repentance. And repentance is a lot more than saying a few "Hail Mary's", doing some pertinence, making promises to "never do that again".

Not only do we lack the power in and of ourselves to change but this is, to me, a sad example of "cheap grace" which is a whole other study.

The importance of this side of repentance is this:

There may be things we are doing, thinking, pursuing that do not produce guilt. We may be moving in a direction that is at "cross purpose" with God's plan and purpose in our lives. We may think that if we are not in "sin" as we define "sin" then we are OK and there is no need to change course.

In this place of repentance, we bow in humble confession of our known guilt and sin, but now, we should also, cry out that the Lord show us where we are at cross purpose with His Will. Many are trying to serve God their own way..not His way. Here is where we need to get lined up with God's plan and His purpose. "For not everyone who says to Me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the Will of My Father." ****while this refers to people who would try to access God through a way other than through Jesus Christ, who is the ONLY way to the Father, still the point is to turn away from that which is at cross purpose with God's Will in any situation.

God will speak to us. If we put ourselves in His Presence and at His feet, He will speak. I have found that God has an opinion about everything.

In this place of repentance, we become open to His thoughts, His directive, His Will because this is where surrender begins.

Practicing the lesson is part of the training in Righteousness, so we will stop here and find a place to transact our business with God. Confess what needs confession, express regrets for what conviction the Holy One brings and receive His forgiveness. But then, ask the Lord to show you where you might need to change your direction to line up with His Will. Write down what God tells you, what you might be hearing Him say to you.

In the Lord's prayer, we were taught to pray, "Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done on earth as it is (being done )in Heaven.

My flesh is stubborn which is why I pray, "Oh Abba, rule the mule". God is merciful and gracious and gentle with His child. I personally prefer to be in bent knee position, but sometime I sprawl out face down like King David who fell prostrate before the Lord. Find your own "position" that seems right to you...but do what He is asking of you.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?