Are you overwhelmed with your life simply because you know you made a mistake? Repenting is the key to answering your need to make peace with God, to make things right with those who have accepted your wrongdoing and to receive peace. Begin with Step 1 to learn how to repent and bring your soul to peace.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Accepting Your Sin
Step 1. Be humble
Remember: you can lie to other people and you can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to God. If you really want to repent, you have to be humble and be prepared to admit that you don't always do the right thing. Be humble before God and know in your heart that He is right and you must live by His words.
Step 2. Feel and believe God is in your heart
You have to believe that God can forgive you and help you live a better life. Otherwise, you will quickly lose motivation to correct your mistakes. Changing bad habits and correcting wrong ones is difficult and you have to trust that God is with you or you will falter.
Step 3. Think about your actions
Think of all the sins you have committed and all the mistakes you have committed. Don't limit yourself to big things like cheating or stealing: all sins are equal in God's eyes. Sometimes writing down your sins can help. You also don't need to list all at once. Better take your time and make it thorough.
Step 4. Think about why what you did was wrong
Before you repent, it is important to think about why what you did was wrong. Blindly following God's words only shows Him that you don't think about your mistakes. Think of the people you hurt when you sinned and think of what your sin did to your soul (hint: it's not good for you!). Think about the bad things you did because of your guilt. This is an important step!
Step 5. Repent for the right reasons
Make sure when you repent, you do it for the right reasons. If you think you have to repent for God to grant your unrelated wish, you are repenting for no good reason. Repent because it is good for your soul and will make your life more enjoyable and productive, not because you want worldly things and riches or anything like that from God. That's not what God exists for.
Step 6. Read the verses
When you repent, start by reading the holy verses of your religion (Bible, Koran, Torah, etc.). Read the verse that deals with repenting but also read the verse in its entirety, to help God's words come to your heart and give you guidance. When we sin, we sin because we lose our way. You have to find God's way so you can walk there again.
- The Christian Bible has many verses related to repentance, including Matthew 4:17 and Acts 2:38 and 3:19.
- The main verse in the Qur'an relating to repentance is At-Tahriim 66:8.
- Jews can find verses about repentance in Hosea 14:2-5, Proverbs 28:13, and Leviticus 5:5.
Part 2 of 3: Fixing Things
Step 1. Consult your spiritual advisor
Your spiritual advisor, such as a pastor, priest, priest or rabbi will be able to help you make a confession and make things right with God. Remember, their job is to help you on your journey with God! They will love to help and they understand that humans are imperfect: they will not judge you! Even if you're not officially in their congregation, you can ask for advice and arrange a time to meet with them, so don't feel bad talking to a spiritual counselor you don't know.
Don't feel that you have to go to the Lord's house to repent, or that you have to talk to a counselor for the Lord to hear you. God hears you as He hears religious leaders. You can fully repent on your own if you wish
Step 2. Change your behavior
When you repent, the most important thing to do is to change your behavior. You must stop committing sins that make you want to repent. It's hard, we know, but you can do it! Usually it will take time and some mistakes, but if you really intend and you really want to repent, you will get through it.
Step 3. Get help
Changing on its own can be very difficult. It's okay if you need more than love from God in your heart! Admitting that you need help will make God happy, it shows that you are humble. You can join a discussion group, consult a spiritual counselor, join a congregation, or seek the help of doctors and other professionals. Seeking help from people outside your church or religion will not make God hate: there must be a reason He helped them get the gifts they have!
Step 4. Fix the problem you have caused
Another important part of repenting is correcting the things you do. You can't just apologize and never live the consequences. If you steal something, you need to notify the person whose property you stole and replace it. If you lied and someone got into trouble because of your lie, you need to tell the truth and help that person. If you cheat on a test, you need to tell your teacher and talk to them about what consequences they think are appropriate. Do whatever you have to do to help the person who has hurt you. This will make God happy.
Step 5. Take advantage of what you learn
Take a lesson from the sin you are trying to fix, to help you avoid making the same mistake in another. Make your mistakes meaningful to help you avoid other problems in your life. For example, if you lied about cheating on a test and you want to really make the lesson count, make sure you're not lying about anything else either.
Step 6. Help others not to make the mistakes you made
Another way to make your sins have greater meaning is to help others learn from your mistakes. Sometimes this means talking to people about what you did, but you can also actively help resolve the problem that led to your sin. For example, if you are guilty of taking drugs, consider volunteering with a local drug clinic or supporting legislation that helps eradicate this problem in your community.
Part 3 of 3: Accepting Forgiveness
Step 1. Live a life that pleases God
Once you are converted, you must take the opportunity and try as hard as you can to live a life that pleases God. Different religions and denominations have different things about what pleases God, but read the scriptures and think about how you feel too.
Step 2. Join officially in your religious community
One thing you can do that can please God and help keep you from sinning again is to join officially and actively in your religious community. For example, baptize yourself if you haven't been (if your religion is Christian). Go to ministry regularly, and talk to other people in your community about God's ways. Help and love your brothers and God will be pleased.
Step 3. Be active in protecting your soul
You must take an active role in protecting your soul in the future. Make regular confessions and deal with your sins as often as possible. Watch out for things that you know can lead you to temptation and stay away from people who are selfless. Keep reading the holy verses and let the light of God lead you on the best path for you.
Step 4. Accept that you will make mistakes in the future
God knows this. When you know that too, that's when you know that you are humble. Don't sleep deprived at night worrying about what you might do that would displease God. What matters to Him is that you try to improve things when you are not so successful.
Step 5. Live the good life
Sin is a mistake that makes us hurt others and hurt ourselves. When we live sin-free lives, we will not only please God and preserve our souls for eternity, we will also make our lives happier and more fulfilling. That's why it's so important to accept the facts about sin first. If you do something that makes you unhappy or causes you to hurt someone else, stop! With the comfort of forgiveness for your soul, you will live a happier life.
Tips
- Forgive yourself. Don't judge yourself. There is only one judge. Forgiving yourself is something you need to do. If you ask for forgiveness but do not seek it within yourself, you will always be shadowed by your actions.
- Remember that there are no limits to forgiveness. God will always love you. Nothing can remove you from God's love.
- Change your environment. If something causes you to sin, change the circumstances of the person or thing that made you do it.
- Know that it was because of our sin that Jesus was hurt. Beaten for the crimes we committed. We are forgiven for the punishment he suffered, we are made whole because of the blow he received for us (Isaiah 53:5). Now that he's ready to forgive, if you do change your mind, turn around and ask Him for forgiveness.
- Realize that you are the only one who can change yourself (put on God's protection). You can feel the urge to change. Your family or friends can ask you to change, but when the time comes, only you have to make that dedication to God and change.
- Trust that things can change. Why not see it change? If you are addicted to drugs or have a habit that you want to get rid of or overcome, trust me you can get rid of the habit and seek help, if necessary.
- Catholic: Ask the holy Virgin Mary to pray for her Divine Son for you. He always listened to his prayers on behalf of a sinner.
