I grew up on the ACTS method of prayer, so confession has always been a regular part of my spiritual life. When I was a child, my confessions were broad and simple: God, forgive me of my sins. As I grew older, I began to take inventory of my wrongs and ask God to specifically forgive each trespass.

Recently, however, I felt challenged to move beyond this surface level approach. What I realized is that just as there are multiple layers to the cleanliness of a home, there are deeper layers to confession. 

Most of us are comfortable with “living room confession.” We can stand in the open and assess the state of our hearts, and tidy up what we can see. “Oh, that ‘pillow’ is out of place, Lord, forgive me. You want me to toss out the ‘stale pizza’ sitting on the ottoman? Got it. Wouldn’t want pests.”

But what if we went deeper? What if we embraced “cabinet confession”? 

What if we adopted David’s prayer as our own:

Search me, God, and know my heart;

    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

 See if there is any offensive way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps. 139:23-24

What if we allowed Jesus into the cluttered corners of our hearts, the places we tend to ignore or justify, the areas we hope no one ever sees? What if we invited Him to put His finger on our mess that we didn’t even know existed?

For many of us, the idea of that level of accountability is uncomfortable. Not because we don’t understand that there are areas in our lives in need of healing or because we think he doesn’t already know the deepest corners of our hearts. The thing we bristle at is knowing that if we intentionally ask him to throw open the door to the linen closet, he might pull out an item that he asks us to get rid of. And whether it’s because of our pride, our comfort, or our selfishness, we may not be ready or willing to give it up.

Yet, as we all know, there’s no greater feeling than purging our homes, especially those cluttered closets. Getting rid of unnecessary, unhealthy, or unwanted things is freeing. If we are willing to ask, God will do the same for our spiritual homes as well.