I Need a Clean Heart
Scripture Speaks to Us
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 NIV
Our Response to God’s Word
The context of this scripture is that King David is crying out in repentance for his sin concerning Bethsheba. As you may know, David’s first sin concerning Bethsheba was to lust after her, then to have her brought to himself and then lay with her – knowing that she was a married woman. Then he had her husband, who was in his army, brought home from the war so he could have relations with his wife, to cover the pregnancy that she now carried from David. The soldier refused to have relations with his wife, as he was committed to fight, so David had him placed on the front lines of the war so he would be killed. Once he was dead, he married Bethsheba, again, concealing his sin. After their child was born, the Lord took the child and David was devastated. As per usual, one sin led to another, then another.
The old adage, “What a tangled web we weave, when at first we practice to deceive” rang true in David’s life, as it also does in our own. Are there things in your life that have haunted you? You keep repeating the same mistakes and paying the same consequences? Are you tired of running from God? Peace and rest are here for you, only you have to stop running, stop weaving those webs. Jesus paid the price for all of our sins, so we don’t have to. We have only to believe. According to John 14:6, “Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Are you ready to stop running from God? Ready for a clean heart? Let’s pray…
Join Us in Prayer
Father God, You are an awesome God! You know the beginning from the end! Remind us, Father, that You are working for our good, and that You are for us, and not against us. Father God, we come before You today, humble and remorseful for these things that have tripped us up. These things that have taken our eyes off of You. Father, we ask that you forgive us today, that You cleanse our hearts and our minds. We confess that You are Lord of our lives. Help us to live in such a way that You are exalted and others are drawn to You because of our witness. Thank You for all these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.