Deciding to surrender completely to Christ is one of the best decisions you would ever make! One of the first steps in this direction is repenting from sin and departing from every form of evil. However, knowing how to repent to God may seem a little difficult.
But this is not necessarily the case. As a child of God, I have come to learn that with God, everything is a process. There is also a time for everything in heaven and on earth. So, don’t push yourself too hard, take your time with God, and He will walk you through.
Repenting to God takes the heart to be ready and willing to function with God and His kingdom. So, are you ready to let go of your old ways and walk with Christ? The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV).
These aren’t just words put together. They are a promise from God to us, His beloved children. I, therefore, urge you to not be afraid, come with all your burdens, and meet with our father. And if you may have any doubts, come on and hold my hand as I walk you through 9 ways to repent to God.
What Is Repentance In The Bible?
One of my favorite Bible characters when it comes to Repentance is King David. Following his life story, it is apparent that David understood what repentance meant.
He also understood how to get closer to God after repenting, and you can too. There are many ways to get closer to God, and these have been outlined and explained in the article here:
In the Bible, one of the criteria given to be close to God is true repentance, which is an act of leaving that which is not of God and turning to God sincerely.
“Peter replied, ”Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 (NIV).
Repentance gives room for us to grow mentally and, most importantly, spiritually. So, in your quest for salvation, what you need to know first is how to repent to God.
Now, repentance is not only for those who have not received Christ at all; it is also for those who may have strayed. In my walk with Christ, there are times when I have found myself walking in ways that are not of God. The only way out was to repent and turn back to God.
Take, for instance, King David in the Bible who was described as a man after God’s heart. In his lifetime, he was about daily repentance.
He always acknowledged his wrongdoings, sought God and repented. To this, the Bible says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23 (NIV).
Personally, it took me a while to realize that God did not need a perfect me but a sincere and honest me. In the same vein, God is not looking for a perfect you; He is only in search of a sincerely broken and contrite spirit.
You see, repentance is a process that starts from your heart, leading up to your spirit and then the body. At the Pentecost, where Peter spoke to the people, the Bible says that “they were cut to the heart”.
So when you are seeking how to repent, ask yourself if the decision is truly from your heart. Are you remorseful and would like to turn to God because your heart is longing to receive Christ? The answer to this is where you find true repentance.
How Do You Repent And Ask God For Forgiveness?
True repentance to God brings automatic forgiveness and healing of the spirit through the power of Jesus Christ. Forgiveness from God is available for everyone who needs it, for “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Isaiah 1:18 (NIV). This means that it does not matter how much you think your sins are or how far from God you think you may have gone. God is ever ready to clean your slate and wash you white as snow. For this reason, did, Jesus die on the cross.
Go ahead and seek; you will find God’s hands are open to granting us what we ask from the honesty and sincerity of our hearts. When we seek repentance from the depth of our hearts, God is quick to grant it to us and this comes with a reward of forgiveness.
If God can give up his only son for us to be saved, why would He not provide us with forgiveness when we ask? Therefore, bring yourself humbly before God and ask Him to teach you how to repent to Him. As I have mentioned, God is always ready to accept and forgive you, regardless.
Steps Of Repentance
The decision to repent is not the easiest; it takes courage and strength to make up your mind to know how to repent to God and to follow through with it.
In order to help you and give you ease in your process of repentance, there are steps on how to repent and be saved and how to repent from sins.
So maybe you are finding it a little bit difficult to know how to repent wholeheartedly and surrender completely to God. Worry less because in this article, you will not only learn about repentance, but you will also find steps to follow to total repentance. As earlier promised, here are 9 steps to repent to God:
1. Recognize And Acknowledge Your Sins
The first step is to search your heart for everything you can remember. Do you recognize any of your deeds as wrong and hence, sins? If yes, you’re on track. Acknowledge these sins in your heart, and do not be defensive.
“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” Psalms 51:3 (NIV). Accept your faults first and take full responsibility.
2. Confess Your Sins
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”1 John 1:9 (NIV). This is an assurance from the word of God that as long as we can acknowledge our sins and thereafter confess them before God, He is willing to forgive us.
Be remorseful enough to tell God about the sins and confess that you do not want to return to it. Open up your heart and pour out the things that you do not want in it. Remember, your heart is your powerhouse, so turn it inside out and allow God to purge you of sins.
3. Ask For Forgiveness
Our God is a just father. Just like the prodigal son was received with open arms when he sought forgiveness, so will we be received by God when we ask for forgiveness. In Psalms 51, King David made prayer as he confessed his sins and asked for forgiveness.
However, one of the easiest ways I have discovered to be able to ask for forgiveness is humility. In being humble, you first of all forgive yourself of your past and every wrong deed that may hold you back from receiving salvation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV). This is an assurance that once you become part of the body of Christ, there is no condemnation.
God will not hold you to your past, so let go. And when you have forgiven yourself, humbly ask God for forgiveness, and you will receive.
4. Make Restitution
This is another step on how to repent to God. Although you have received forgiveness from God, it is important to make restitution for what you have done. Nevertheless, restitution is not a criterion for repentance, and it is only a result of repentance.
You may not be able to make restitution for everything but do as much as you can. Reconcile with those you may have had issues with and so on.
In the book of Luke 19, we are given the story of Zaccheus, the chief task collector who was wealthy as a result of cheating the masses.
When Zaccheus encountered Jesus, however, he repented and as result, declared he would give back four times to those who he had cheated. Receiving Christ makes you different so let your actions show it.
5. Depart From Sin
repentance means turning away from an act completely in order to turn to something else. In this case, on how to repent to God, you must turn away from your sins and turn to God.
You will make up your mind to walk in righteousness and engage only in activities that glorify God. This is not the easiest thing to do, but when you give up your life to God and let him take control, it will become much easier for you to let go of sin.
This way, you no longer have to bother about how to repent to God of lust or other things you may have struggled with because Jesus will be dwelling in you and you in him.
6. Resolve To Obey
Engaging in all the aforementioned steps are guaranteed ways of how to repent to God. However, if your heart is not willing to accept and obey the will and commandments of God, then the foundation you set may be shaky.
Obeying God’s word is what we do as Christians, so if you are submitting yourself to God, so it completely. Forsake disobedience, resist the urge to go contrary to the word of God, and stay grounded. “Submit yourselves, then, to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (NIV). Obeying God always has rewards attached to it; long life, fulfillment, peace, and so on. So, trust and obey God!
7. Fellowship With God And The Brethren
Being in God’s presence is a way to fellowship with him. Fellowship helps us to be in unity and oneness with God. When we repent to God, some of our relationships change in our lives; God becomes our Father and Jesus, our savior.
As Christians, there are many benefits we get from fellowshipping with God and the brethren. However, one of the major benefits is that it helps build our friendship.
For instance, when we build our relationships with our mortal friends, we want to be around them and talk to them most of the time. We care about how they feel and want to show them that we love them.
This is how we should build our relationship with God also. By staying in God’s presence and studying his word with fellow Christians, we show God that we are truly repentant and want to dwell with him.
8. Have Faith
When we talk about God, having faith in Him cannot be overemphasized. In repenting to God, it is important to have faith and believe that God has indeed forgiven us and all things are past.
If you try to separate repentance from faith, you will find that it is impossible because it is our trust in God that gives us assurance and helps us stay steadfast with Christ. It is also faith that helps us to walk unwaveringly with God and be able to resist the devil after true repentance.
9. Commit Your Ways To God
Committing your ways to God is a sign of true repentance. You may ask how this can be? Here’s an answer: repentance, as we have established, is turning away from sin and turning to God.
When we turn to God, we should ensure that we also roll all of our ways into the hands of God.
This helps you become confident, knowing that everything that concerns you is being taken care of by God, and what could be better than confidence? Committing to God confirms your faith in Him and automatically gives you a dwelling and resting place in God.
How To Repent Daily
As earlier mentioned in this article, knowing how to repent to God is not knowledge for ‘first-time Christians’ alone. It is important for everyone who believes in God to repent daily.
Children of God face so many challenges, but we overcome them by the blood of Jesus. Despite this, we should learn how to repent to God every day of our lives.
This is not a difficult process. A simple, sincere prayer of repentance and seeking forgiveness does the magic. God is not interested in you crying out your eyes and begging.
He is a loving and caring Father, and all he is interested in is that your intentions are pure and that as you ask, you ask in faith and honesty.
King David was a man after God’s heart because despite committing atrocities, he always found his way back to the throne of grace with a broken and contrite heart.
Repentance and forgiveness should occur in a daily pattern. We go through our day with different thoughts, some of good and others of evil.
Personally, when I realize in the course of my day that I have thought wrongly, I immediately ask for mercy from my heart. Regardless, at the end of every day, I ask the Lord to show me mercy for every thought, word, or action that I participated in during the day that does not glorify Him or His kingdom.
This process is important as it gives a renewal of one’s spirit at every moment. So, when you pray daily, commit your heart to the hands of God and seek repentance in order to keep your spirit refreshed.
How To Repent To God At Home
In our talk about repentance, we have talked about repenting daily, which can be done from the comfort of our homes. Repenting to God does not necessarily mean you have to go to a church or visit a pastor or Christian leader.
Repenting to God can be done anywhere, even in space or underwater. Your location is not the concern of God. God is only really concerned about the state of your heart with him.
So whether you decide to meet a Christian leader or go to a church to receive Christ, as long as your spirit is broken and contrite, God will avail Himself to you.
He will still show you what he would like you to see and tell you what he would want you to hear. Wherever you are reading this, as long as you have read and understood how to repent to God and you are willing to repent and surrender now.
That place you are is the best place to do it. If you’re on public transport, at school, at the hospital, or at work and you are convinced God is all you need. Please do not wait, do it already. Heaven is rejoicing, and I am glad and welcome you to Christ.
Repentance Prayer
The prayer for repentance is not constant nor particular. You can say it how you believe is best. Just be sure, however, to accept and confess your sins to God.
You should also confess your belief and trust in God in order to become born-again(if you were not before now). The repentance prayer is for everyone who seeks how to repent to God.
As I have said, there is no particular repentance prayer. But If you would like a guide, you could study and follow the prayer and confession of King David in Psalms 51.
Scriptures On Repentance
As we have talked about how to repent to God in various ways and dimensions, I would also like to give you other scriptures of the bible that talk about repentance.
1. Romans 8:38-39- For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. 2 Chronicles 7:14- If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
3. Acts 3:19- Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
4. Proverbs 28:13- Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
5. 2 chronicles 30:9- For the Lord, your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.
6. 2 Peter 3:9- The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
7. Matthew 4:17- From that time on, Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
8. James 4:8- Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9. Luke 15:7- I tell you that in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
10. Luke 5:32- I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
11. Zechariah 1:3b- ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.
12. Acts 2:38- Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
13. Proverbs 1:23- Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make known to you my teachings.
14. Luke 24:46-48- He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
15. Acts 11:18- When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles, God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Finally, repenting gives God access to you and vice versa. You may wonder why God needs access to you; it is simply because he is interested in your salvation, the only reason He gave his son for you. Let’s make an example of a swimming pool lifeguard who is there to help and save those who cannot swim.
So is Jesus, who made it clear when he said to his disciples that he did not come for the righteous but for the sinners.
I have learned that God wants us to acknowledge that we need help and ask Him before he steps in. If you know you need help, reach out to God, and he will hold up. He is forever waiting patiently!
Save this for later!
