Prayer to keep mistakes from being recorded
Written by Rachel Adams
Bible reading:
As the heavens are above the earth, so great is God’s love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far God has removed our sins from us. – Psalm 103:10-12
Listen or read below:
I looked into the brightly lit rooms of middle school and high school girls and was lost in thought. The glow made them look very beautiful, but even through the dim lighting I could see the hurt in their eyes. During this “Night of Agape” for preteen and teen girls, we laughed after I showed pictures of myself at that age, especially one with bangs in a barrel roll and rollerblading. But the night took a more serious turn when I shared my testimony and some of the core beliefs I had about myself as a young woman. Those beliefs greatly influenced the choices I made and, in turn, the consequences of those decisions.
After telling my story, I gave the young women a moment of reflection. They were each given a blank canvas and tasked with drawing the outline of a cross. I instructed them to write down anything they wanted to figuratively place on the cross. I gave them a space to write down any dark thoughts that came to mind about themselves. Decisions you regret, mistakes you’ve made, sins you’ve committed, feelings of helplessness and worthlessness caused by the words and actions of others.
I was surprised to find that each of the 5×7 canvases, which had been blank just five minutes earlier, were now filled with crosses. The girls wrote steadily and without hesitation, pouring out their feelings to the Lord. As I walked around the room looking at their souls etched in rough cloth, my heart grieved as I noticed the repetition and similarity of their pain and shame. But then, when I realized that God already knew everything they had written, my heart became even more vibrant and jumped with hope. There were no surprises here. Despite all of this, God still loved them.
To complete the activity, I provided each young woman with a red Sharpie. I asked them to cross out everything they had previously listed on the canvas with a marker. This symbolized God’s agape love breaking through the darkness of their past. There was something therapeutic about this movement, watching each swipe of red undo a violation until all I could see was the blood of Christ erasing years of heartache.
The teenage girls who attended this special event learned that God keeps no record of our sins (Psalm 103:10-12). Isn’t this puzzling?! When God forgives our sins, He separates them from us and does not remember them (Hebrews 8:12). It may be difficult for us to forget, but the Lord will forgive our failures as long as we confess and repent. And once we have received God’s gift of mercy, we must share it with others. For we are commanded to “bear with one another, and if anyone has a grievance against anyone, forgive one another, as the Lord has forgiven you” (Colossians 3:13).
Remembering how much God has forgiven you is the key to extending the same grace to those who may have wronged you. What if we, too, took away the sins of others far away, from the west to the east (Psalm 103:12)? Instead of going all in on the attack and writing off the past, what if we wiped each other clean? Are you keeping track of today’s score? I pray that we no longer keep a record of our mistakes, but choose to forgive, forget, and reconcile with others, as long as it is up to us.
This concept applies to accounting for our own sins and holds a ledger of our own wrongdoings as well. If we were together, I would give you a canvas and a red marker. That’s true, but our screens are probably full of failures. Through true repentance, the blood of Jesus Christ erases our past, present, and future sins. Let this truth wash over your heart today. No matter what you do, no matter what is done to you, “though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).” Dear friend, God sees you as a blank canvas. Stop taking inventory of all your mistakes. If we keep our records, may only God’s great love wipe it all clean.
Let’s pray:
main,
Thank you for forgiving my sins and erasing their very existence. Please help me to accept your mercy and have my sins forgiven. May I forgive others as you have forgiven me. I release those who have hurt me in my life. Create in me an attitude of generous grace toward others, as You have extended it to me. Show me if there are people in my life I have hurt and give them the strength to humbly ask for forgiveness. Help us all to see our lives as blank canvases, just as you do.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
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Rachel Adams, author of A Little Goes a Long Way and host of the podcast The Love Offering, wants to help women understand their God-given purpose and importance. She and her husband, Brian, live in Kentucky with their two children, Will and Kate. Her work has been featured in Crosswalk, Proverbs 31, Today Parenting, and YouVersion. Connect with her by visiting rachaelkadams.com, searching @rachaeladamsauthor on social media, and listening to The Love Offering podcast every Tuesday on your favorite listening platform.
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