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40 Days of Prayer, Day 6

Day 6, Friday, August 26

(Note: We will have a few group prayer times for the next few weeks.  We will meet in the conference room on Sunday mornings at 7:50 AM and Sunday evenings at 7:50 PM.  We will meet in the worship center at 12:15 PM on Tuesdays.  We will also meet in the conference room at 8:15 PM on Wednesday evenings.)

“For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17

Marks of a Broken and Contrite Heart

We are now on our sixth day into the 40 Days of Prayer. We have spent all six days on just two verses from Psalm 51. The theme of the entire 40 Days is “Praying with a Contrite Heart.” It seems fitting that we should take a few moments to define the terms. What is a broken and contrite heart? What is a broken and contrite heart with specific reference to our relationship to God? When speaking of a broken heart we need little outside assistance. All of us have been betrayed by a friend or spurned by a potential love. All of us have had our hearts broken over the loss of someone or something significant to us. From deep seated emotional stress to physical symptoms, when we have badly broken hearts, our broken hearts control our every waking moment. We even struggle when we are not awake, as our sleep is restless. We battle feelings of hopelessness and despair. Physically our energy may be low and our motivation may be stymied. We feel distant from others and alienated even from our own self. Someone betrays us and life changes dramatically in how we think, feel and act because of a broken heart.

We can also experience this same sense of brokenness when we are the offending party. When we hurt someone or betray them, we are heartbroken for the harm done to that person and for our own sense of failure in the relationship. Husbands and wives, parents and children, friends and co-workers have all experienced both being betrayed and being the betrayer. When those relationships are damaged, the next step to restoration involves a brokenness and contrition of heart. “I feel terrible about the pain I have caused you.” “Please forgive me.” “I am so sorry for what I have done to hurt you.” These are statements of contrition. For David, he had committed adultery and then murder. He spent a year without any consequences for his actions. He even took Uriah’s grieving spouse, Bathsheba, into his home and married her. Did Israel perceive this as an act of mercy by David? Did David give the illusion of doing good while covering his evil? For a year David maintained life as usual. He probably attended religious activities at the tabernacle. He may have even shown support for the priests and Levites in their function as spiritual leaders of the nation. Did he offer sacrifices? Did he bring animals for sin offering? All of this external appearance of wholeness was a fraud. All of this was simply a cover for a corruption of heart, mind, body and soul. One year later Nathan the prophet confronts David. David responds with repentance through which he crafts this psalm. The psalm opens with the words of contrition. “Be gracious to me, Oh God.” Even though David’s sin greatly impacted Bathsheba and Uriah along with their families, his sin ultimately was an offense against God Himself. God had established David as King of Israel. God had placed him in that position through the anointing ministry of God’s prophet, Samuel. For David to then use that position in order to commit such incredible sins against others was particularly offensive to God. However, despite David’s unique position and unique sin, all sin really falls in this category. God has created and given to us incredible opportunities for good. He gave us minds, bodies, relationships, gifting, and many other resources. These were given to us by God to honor Him and to serve others. Sin violates the purposes for which these gifts have been given to us by God. When we sin against others, we ultimately are sinning against God.

The first step in forming a contrite heart is being confronted with the reality of our sin against God. David had surely offered sacrifices during the time of his year of duplicitous living. However, none of those offerings reached the heart of God because the relationship between David and God had been severed through David’s rebellion. Our sins, the sin we commit every day, both big and small, are sins against God. Our sin separates us from Him. Contrition begins with an acknowledgment of our sin and its devastating impact. We have to own this. We can’t blame someone else. We can’t blame God. Our sin is our own. When we see God has He really is and our sin as it really is, guilt, heartbreak, isolation, desperation all flood the soul. And God loves the fact that we are now seeing our sin the way He sees it. This humility before God is met with the compassion of God. God is a God of relationships. And He loves restoring relationships with repentant, contrite people.

Prayer Focus

Oh God, I confess that my sin violates all of the purposes for which You have created me.  I have used Your gifts and Your resources for my sinful own purposes.  Please forgive me.  I am so sorry for failing to see You as You really are, holy and pure.  I am also sorry for failing to see myself as I really am, sinful and rebellious.  Thank You for Your unending mercy.  Thank You for how You wait patiently for me to turn to You.  Work in me so I may experience the very purposes for which I have been made.  Amen.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice
Behold both the majesty and condescension of the high and lofty One; that He is high, and the inhabiter of eternity; 'I am the high and lofty One, ' He says, 'I inhabit eternity.' Truly this consideration is enough to make the broken-hearted man creep into a mouse-hole to hide from such majesty! But behold his heart, his condescending mind; I am for dwelling also with him that has a broken heart, with him that is of a contrite spirit; that is the man that I would converse with, that is the man with whom I will cohabit; that is, I will choose for my companion. For to desire to dwell with one supposes all these things; and truly, of all the men in the world, none have acquaintance with God, none understand what communion with him, and what his teachings mean, but such as are of a broken and contrite heart. 'He is near to them that are of a broken spirit' (Ps. 34:18). These are they in the 14th Psalm, where it is said, 'The Lord looked down from heaven, - to see if any understood and seek God'; that he might find somebody in the world with whom he might converse; for indeed there is none that either understand, or that hearken to him. God, as I may say, is forced to break men's hearts, before he can make them willing to cry to him, or be willing that he should have any concerns with them; the rest shut their eyes, stop their ears, withdraw their hearts, or say to God, Be gone (Job 21:14). But now the broken in heart can experience it; and therefore is fit to have an encounter with God. There is room in this man's house and heart and spirit, for God to dwell, for God to walk, for God to set up a kingdom.

40 Days of Prayer, Day 5

Day 5, Thursday, August 25

(Author's note: Don't panic.  We will begin to progress through other verses by the end of this week.  We will progress through other psalms by the end of the following week.  There is a development of thought that I am trying to establish here at the beginning before we move to other themes.  Hang in there.)

“For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17

A Broken and Contrite Heart and the Sacrifices of God
There are some sacrifices that God despises. If God, out of an abundance of His grace, gave us these tangible religious expressions to show our worship for Him, then we dare not abuse them. It is a gift with meaning. The gift of temple worship and the sacrificial system provided Israel tangible expressions of their love and gratitude to God. To use those gifts as an end to themselves is an incredible insult. Even worse, to use the tangible gifts of worship as a means to disguise the evil in our hearts is full blown rebellion against God. The tangible gifts of singing, praying, serving, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, provide the church with means of expressing gratitude, worship and loyalty. It is tyrannical to uses those gifts from God in order to hide the evil of our hearts from Him and from others. That is why David, in the midst of his repentance, didn’t start with the outward, tangible expressions of worship. David began with the core issue of his relationship with God, his heart.

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. Psalm 51:16

As Spurgeon wrote in his commentary on this verse, “When the heart mourns for sin, You, Oh God, are better pleased than when the bull bleeds beneath the axe. "A broken heart" is an expression implying deep sorrow; it carries in it the idea of all but killing anguish in that region which is so vital as to be the very source of life. So excellent is a spirit humbled and mourning for sin, that it is not only a sacrifice, but it has a plurality of excellences, and is preeminently God's sacrifices. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. A heart crushed is a fragrant aroma of a heart. We hold with contempt those who are contemptible in their own eyes, but the Lord sees not as we see. He despises what we esteem, and values that which we despise. Never yet has God spurned a lowly, weeping penitent, and never will he while God is love, and while Jesus is called the man who receives sinners. Bull and rams he does not desire, but contrite hearts he seeks after; yes, but one of them is better to him than all the varied offerings of the old Jewish sanctuary.”

Prayer Focus

God, Give me a contrite and broken heart. I offer my heart to You, seeking to please You. I see in Your word that you never despise such an offering. In my brokenness draw me close to You. Amen.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice

Second. It is of greater esteem with God than is either heaven or earth; and that is more than to be set before external duties. 'Thus says the Lord, heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool, where is the house that you build for me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things have my hands made, and all those things have been, says the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word' (Isa 66:1, 2). Note, God says, he has made all these things, but he does not say, that he will look to them, that is, take delight in them; no, there is that wanting in all that he has made that should take up and delight his heart. But now, let a broken-hearted sinner come before him; yes, he ranges the world throughout to find out such an one, and having found him, 'To this man, ' He says that such a man to him is of more value than is either heaven or earth; 'They, ' says He, 'shall grow old'; 'they shall perish' and vanish away; but this man he continues: he, as is presented to us in another place, under another character, 'he shall abide for ever' (Heb 1:10-12; 1 John 2:17).

40 Days of Prayer, Day 4

Day 4, Wednesday, August 24

“For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17

The Necessity of the Broken Heart

Just as Israel had the sacrificial system, the church has ceremonial aspects of our worship. In our context, as believers in Christ and as a church gathering together regularly for worship, we also have been given tangible expressions of our relationship to God. We have baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The church regularly gives, sings, prays, fellowships and serves. All of these acts originate from the mind of God. Just as He provided the religious life of Israel, He has provided for the church these tangible expressions of our relationship to Him. However, just as with Israel’s religious life, these expressions are not intended as an end to themselves. These religious rites provide us with physical tools to portray spiritual realities. David, after the sin with Bathsheba, knew that mere religious ceremony was insufficient to reconcile his relationship to God. In fact, mere religious ceremony is never sufficient. We are creatures of habit. We also tend toward laziness in our relationships. We get comfortable with others and take them for granted. We are prone to allow ongoing rote activities become substitutes for authentic relationship. Moments of crisis shock us out of the mundane, rote external behavior and pierce us to the heart. David likely had an active religious life when the sin with Bathsheba emerged. However, it might well be that David had defaulted to the external actions without having his heart engaged in the relationship with the God He worshiped.

The same thing can happen to us. We might sing every Sunday but as the words are coming out of our mouth, our hearts and minds are focused on something else. We might attempt to appease God through giving some money to the church or someone in need. We might try to impress God through church attendance. Just as for Israel, there is nothing inherently wrong with religious acts as God provided those to both Israel and the church. Sacrifices and burnt offerings originated with God. He gave them to Israel in order to provide tangle expressions of worship and faithfulness to Him. Giving, worship and the church also come from God. He established these aspects of religious life. God gave us tools to express gratitude, repentance, dependence and worship directed toward Him, but all of these acts must begin within the heart of the worshiper.

Prayer Focus

God, protect me from mere external religion. Engage my heart and mind as I pray, study and worship. You know my heart and You know my weaknesses. I am prone to act religious while being completely disconnected from You. Draw me close to You. Amen.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice

But we will demonstrate by several particulars, that a broken spirit, a spirit RIGHTLY broken, a heart TRULY contrite, is to God an excellent thing.

First. This is evident from the comparison, 'You do not desire sacrifice, or I would give it, You do not delight in burnt-offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.' Note, he rejects offerings and sacrifices: that is, all Levitical ceremonies under the law, and all external performances under the gospel; but accepts a broken heart. It is therefore shown by this, were there nothing else to be said, that a heart rightly broken, a heart truly contrite, is to God an excellent thing; for as you see such a heart is set before all sacrifice; and yet they were the ordinances of God, and things that he commanded; but a broken spirit is above them all, a contrite heart goes beyond them, yes, beyond them when put all together. You will not have the one. You will not despise the other. O brethren, a broken and a contrite heart is an excellent thing. Have I said a broken heart, a broken and a contrite heart is esteemed by God above all sacrifices.