Very often in Christian circles I hear about the prayer of repentance: “Did he repent?”, “He needs to repent of his sins”, and so on. Or “the prayer of repentance”. But in essence repentance is a change of mind, a change in the way we think. So how are we to understand a “prayer of changing your mind”? When people talk about repentance, they all arrive at the idea of the forgiveness of sins for salvation. No matter how many brothers and sisters I have asked, they all understand repentance = forgiveness. But that is not so! The thief on the cross did not ask for forgiveness, but from his words it is clear that he changed his mind: he believed in Christ. Yet he did not repent in our sense of the word.

Repentance, metanoia in Greek, is precisely a change of mind. When I change my mind, I think in other terms and definitions, taken from the Bible and understood from it. As I meditate on the word of God (logos and rhema), my understanding changes — it is the Lord who changes it — and I come to know Him. And the outward result is a change in my way of life, my actions, my desires, and in life itself, so to speak. For a while now I have stopped using the “prayer of repentance”, because it is really a prayer asking for the forgiveness of sins and coming to faith. Repentance, that is, a change of mind, usually happens later, once we are well acquainted with the Bible and have a personal relationship with Christ.

For example: “Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin” (Heb.10:18) If the one who has been forgiven needs no offering of sacrifices for forgiveness, why ask for forgiveness? Meditate, draw new conclusions, understand in a new way!!!