Ok, so we messed up. We did it once again, that same repeating sin of ours. Or even worse, we went a little further this time to commit a more serious sin against God and Men. What next? Do we simply live in guilt, in that remorseful mood? As the new trend of this latest young generation, we even see people going so far as to even think of ending their own life, the life on which only GOD has the power, the life which started not by us choosing it which simply means we don’t also get to choose when to end our life. If you have sinned or done a mistake, don’t be a Judas, be a Peter!
Greatest Repentance Prayer from Bible
Look into our Holy Book – the BIBLE. You can see someone who has been in a very similar situation. David the King commits adultery with Bathsheba. To conceal his iniquity, David also does proxy murder. Very serious sins indeed. Finally when prophet Nathan opens up his mind to these grievous sins done by him, what this results in is Psalm 51 : A Prayer for Forgiveness.
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Commentary on Psalm 51
No one is perfect. Everyone sins. When we do something that we know is wrong, we have ugly feelings. We feel sad, guilty and ashamed for disobeying God. We want to make things right again. So we need God to forgive us. Psalm 51 can help us ask for God’s forgiveness after you have sinned. It is a prayer admitting our sins and asking God to give us a clean heart.
We can tell God we are sorry for sin anytime at all. We also have the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation especially for the forgiveness of sins. In this sacrament we confess our sins to the priest. We hear the words of God’s forgiveness. We have peace and joy once again.
So what to do if you have sinned? Next time, you know exactly how to ask God for forgiveness of your sins. Please note that this prayer and the sacrament will all be more meaningful only if you have already approached the same person against whom you have sinned and asked for his/her forgiveness and maybe, if possible, help them in ways by which you can somehow reverse the damage or at least a part of the damage you have caused to them due to your sins. May God bless you all.
