An Important Prayer

Psalm 19:12 (BES) (18:13) Who will understand his transgressions? purge thou me from my secret sins.

(Proverbs 19 also read)

There’s a phrase that I have heard, “secret sin”.  Usually when we hear that we think of the hidden recesses of our mind where we think we can hide the sins that we have committed.  Obviously that is a vain hope.  God not only knows our hearts and minds, but He sees everything we do and hears everything we think.  So there are no secret sins from God.

I think this is talking about those “transgressions” which we might not even be aware of.  I know when we get into an emphasis on repentance and making things right with God one of the concerns that I’ve heard expressed is “What about the sins that I can’t remember?”  I’m sure there are many.  They are even sins, or what would be sins if I were aware of them, which I do not know I have committed.  This is a prayer for those situations.

So?  As long as it’s offered thoughtfully and with a sincere heart, I think we can ask God to forgive those things that we’re not really remembering at the moment.  Not a bad habit to get into.