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40 Days of Prayer, Day 27

Day 27, Friday, September 16

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You. Psalm 51:12-13

A Contrite Heart and a Concern for Others

In the confession of Psalm 51, in the midst of David’s heartfelt contrition, David not only asked God to restore the joy of his salvation, but also to sustain a willing spirit within him.  Willing spirit for what?   David requested a willing spirit in order to free others trapped in the pain and sorrow of human sin.  A contrite heart produces brokenness over our own sin.  A contrite heart also produces a brokenness for others.  Just as God pursued David through the prophet Nathan, so he pursues transgressors and sinners through us.  We are the brokenhearted that have been turned to the pursuers of the brokenhearted for God’s sake.  We see this displayed most clearly in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He, who unlike David and the rest of us, is absolutely perfect.  Even still, He empties Himself in order to save those who are completely empty.   Jesus told His followers in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Unlike us, He is only truly holy One and yet He allows Himself to be broken in order to accomplish His mission of seeking and saving those who are by nature unholy.  We see this incredible contrast in the life of Christ.  We see in Christ the holy power of God combined with the humility of the lowest servant. 

James Stewart, the Scottish Theologian described the juxtaposition of Christ’s divinity and humanity in this way: He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men, yet he spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven with the glory of God. He was so austere that evil spirits and demons cried out in terror at his coming, yet he was so genial and winsome and approachable that the children loved to play with him, and the little ones nestled in his arms. His presence at the innocent gaiety of a village wedding was like the presence of sunshine. No one was half so compassionate to sinners, yet no one ever spoke such red hot scorching words about sin. A bruised reed he would not break, his whole life was love, yet on one occasion he demanded of the Pharisees how they ever expected to escape the damnation of hell. He was a dreamer of dreams and a seer of visions, yet for sheer stark realism He has all of our stark realists soundly beaten. He was a servant of all, washing the disciples’ feet, yet masterfully He strode into the temple, and the hucksters and moneychangers fell over one another to get away from the mad rush and the fire they saw blazing in His eyes. He saved others, yet at the last Himself He did not save. There is nothing in history like the union of contrasts which confronts us in the gospels. The mystery of Jesus is the mystery of divine personality.

If Christ, the Son of God, the infinitely holy Creator of the universe humbled Himself for others, we must follow His example.  If He came to serve others, then surely we can allow God to renew a willing spirit within us so that we may serve others.

Prayer Focus

Create in me a willing spirit, Oh God.  Give me compassion for those around me.  Just as Christ came to seek and serve, help me to seek and serve the broken people that I will encounter today.  In the name of Christ Jesus, Amen.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice

The Word of God is an awful Word to a broken-hearted man. Solomon says, 'The word of a king is as the roaring of a lion'; and if so, what is the Word of God? for by the wrath and fear is meant the authoritative word of a king. Hence you have a remark set upon them that tremble at God's Word, they are the ones that keep among the godly; they are the ones that are apt to mourn, and to stand in the gap, when God is angry; and to turn away his wrath from a people.  It is a sign the Word of God has had its place, and worked powerfully, when the heart trembles at it and is afraid, and stands in awe of it. When Joseph's mistress tempted him, he was afraid of the Word of God. 'How then can I do this great wickedness, ' said he, 'and sin against God?' He stood in awe of God's Word, did not do it, because he kept in remembrance what a dreadful thing it was to rebel against God's Word. When Eli heard that the ark was taken, his very heart trembled within him; for he read by that sad loss that God was angry with Israel, and he knew the anger of God was a great and terrible thing. When Samuel went to Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled; for they feared that he came to them with some sad message from God, and they had had experience of the dread of such things before (Gen 39:7-9; 1 Sam 4:13, 16:1- 4).

40 Days of Prayer, Day 26

Day 26, Thursday, September 15

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:1-3

The Contrite Heart Produces a Humble Heart
God is a God of relationships. He rescued us from our human pride, the source of all other sin and rebellion in the world. He rescued us from our pride by sending His Own Son to take on our humanity. As Paul wrote in Philippians, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” God rescued us from the devastation of our pride by sending His Son in humility. Christ Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, was the only human that ever had the right to make much of Himself but instead became the servant of all. Through His humility we are rescued from our pride.

When David boasted, he boasted in the LORD. When we boast in ourselves, our independence, our freedom, our own accomplishments, we separate ourselves from God because it demeans His unbelievable work in creating us and in saving us. When we boast in ourselves, we are elevating ourselves into God’s rightful place. However, when we boast in the LORD, acknowledging His greatness and our dependence on Him, then those who are “humble will hear it and rejoice.” They even join in the chorus of praise to God. “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.” Humility is absolutely necessary for salvation to occur. We cannot think much of ourselves and think much of God at the same time. We cannot make much of ourselves and make much of God at the same time. Those with a contrite heart turn their praise heavenward, away from themselves and toward God.

The following is from Andrew Murray’s book Humility.
The life God bestows is imparted not once for all but each moment by the unceasing operation of His mighty power. Humility, the place of entire dependence upon God, is from the very nature of things the first duty and the highest virtue of His creatures. And so pride – the loss of humility – is the root of every sin and evil….It was when the serpent breathed the poison of his pride-the desire to be as God-into the hearts of our first parents, that they too fell from their high estate into the wretchedness to which all humankind has sunk. In heaven and on earth, pride or self-exaltation is the very gateway to hell.

And so it follows that nothing can save us but the restoration of our lost humility, the original and only true relationship of the creature to its God. And so Jesus came to bring humility back to earth, to make us partakers of it, and by it to save us. In heaven He humbled himself to become a man. The humility we see in Him possessed Him in heaven; it brought Him here. Here on earth “He humbled himself and became obedient to death”; His humility gave His death its value, and so became our redemption. And now the salvation He imparts is nothing less and nothing else than a communication of His own life and death. His own disposition and spirit, His own humility, as the ground and root of His relationship with God and His redeeming work in us. Jesus Christ took the place and fulfilled the destiny of people as a creature by His life of perfect humility. His humility became our salvation. His salvation is our humility.

The life of those who are saved, the saints, must bear this stamp of deliverance from sin and full restoration to their original state; their whole relationship to God and to man marked by an all-pervading humility. Without this there can be no true abiding in God’s presence or experience of His favor and the power of His Spirit; without this no abiding faith or love or joy or strength. Humility is the only soil in which virtue takes root; a lack of humility is the explanation of every defect and failure. Humility is not so much a virtue along with the others, but is the root of all, because it alone takes the right attitude before God and allows Him, as God to do all.

Prayer Focus
Oh, Lord God, I praise You. You alone are worthy of my praise. Forgive me for making much of myself. Forgive me for thinking too much of myself. You have created me for a relationship with You. My pride and self-reliance broke that creative intent. Now, Oh Lord, receive my prayer of confession and my prayer of dependence. I need You every hour, most gracious Lord. Amen.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice
Another sign of a broken heart is a crying, a crying out. Pain, you know, will make one cry. Go to them that have upon them the anguish of broken bones, and see if they do not cry; anguish makes them cry. This is that which quickly follows, if once your heart is broken, and your spirit indeed made contrite. I say, anguish will make you cry. 'Trouble and anguish, ' David says, 'have taken hold on me' (Ps. 119:143). Anguish, you know, naturally provokes crying; now, as a broken bone has anguish, a broken heart has anguish. Hence the pains of one that has a broken heart are compared to the pangs of a woman in travail (John 16:20- 22). Anguish will make one cry alone, cry to one's self; and this is called a bemoaning of one's self. 'I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself, ' God says (Jer. 31:18). That is, being at present under the breaking, chastising hand of God. 'You have chastised me, ' he says, 'and I was chastised, as an oxen unaccustomed to the yoke.' This is his meaning also who said, 'I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise.' And why? Why, 'My heart is pained within me' (Ps. 4:2-4). This is a self-bemoaning, a bemoaning themselves in secret. You know it is common with them who are distressed with anguish, though all alone, to cry out to themselves of their present pains, saying, O my leg! O my arm! O the groans, the sighs, the cries, that the broken-hearted have, when by themselves, or alone! O, say they, my sins! my sins! my soul! my soul! How am I loaded with guilt! How am I surrounded with fear! O this hard, this desperate, this unbelieving heart! O how sin defiles my will, my mind, my conscience! 'I am afflicted and ready to die' (Psa 88:15).[9] Could some of you carnal people but get behind the chamber-door, to hear Ephraim when he is at the work of self-bemoaning, it would make you stand amazed to hear him bewail that sin in himself in which you take delight; and to hear him bemoan his wasting of time, while you spend all in pursuing your lusts; and to hear him offended with his heart, because it will not comply with God's holy will, while you are afraid of his Word and ways, and never think yourselves better than when farthest off from God. The unruliness of the passions and lusts of the broken-hearted make them often get into a corner, and thus bemoan themselves.

40 Days of Prayer, Day 25

Day 25, Wednesday, September 14
Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore, He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way. Psalm 25:6-9

The Contrite Heart and Humility
The connection between contrition and humility can be found in several texts of the Bible. We see it here in Psalm 25. The repentant psalmist appealed to the compassion and lovingkindness of God in hopes of God forgiving his sinful past. Then, in the verses that follow, his contrition produced humility, “He leads the humble in justice.” We observe this connection between contrition and humility in James 4. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:8-10 “Mourn and weep…humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord.” Repentance and humility walk hand in hand. This relationship between a contrite heart and humility is prominently on display in Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount opens with these three blessings. “Blessed are the poor in spirit…blessed are those who mourn…blessed are the humble (some translations say gentle or meek, but very similar meaning as humble)…” In the beatitudes, Jesus opened the series of nine “blessings” with a blessing for contrition, “blessed are the poor in spirit…blessed are those who mourn…” The word “Blessed” spoke of God’s abiding joy in the hearts of those who acknowledge their spiritual poverty and who have their hearts broken by their spiritual poverty. The very next blessing provides the character that should be produced when our hearts are broken over our sin. This third blessing in the beatitudes is a blessing over those who are humble. Those with contrite heart are humble before God. Those with contrite heart are also humble before other people. In Psalm 25:8-9 we see this same relationship. “He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.” The truly repentant have come to terms with the severity of their sin. The process of repentance, of being broken over our sin and seeking the forgiving restoration of God, must produce humility.

The word “humility” is a broad term. It marks the general attitude of the brokenhearted towards God and others. When we are humble there are certain specific attributes that should be evident in our lives and the heart is the primary barometer of this humility. What we think and feel about others matters. For instance, humility produces patience. We should be patient when dealing with the weaknesses of others. Those of contrite heart realize that the grace of God has brought them out from under God’s judgment and into God’s grace. Empowered by the knowledge of God’s grace, those with a contrite heart are able to show grace towards others. If our thoughts about others yield anger or resentment or bitterness, then we have not truly appreciated the profound grace God has provided for us. Remember the parable Jesus told Simon. Simon, a wealth, religious leader, invited Jesus to his home. When Jesus arrived, Simon failed to extend the customary greetings and courtesies to Christ. While they were dining, a woman with a bad reputation came into Simon’s house. She humbled herself at the feet of Jesus and as she wept over His feet, she washed His feet with her hair. Simon responded with the thoughts and attitudes of an unrepentant person. He is harsh in his thoughts about the woman and harsh in his judgments of Jesus. What was Simon’s issue? No contrition for sin. No contrition because he never viewed himself as sinful enough to justify such contrition. Furthering his horrific theology, he spent energy identifying the sin in others and castigating them as unworthy of mercy or forgiveness. Self-righteous thoughts along with condemnation of others collided in Simon’s mind as this woman wept over the feet of Jesus. However, Jesus has a way of confronting us on heart matters. That is just what Jesus did to Simon in this moment. In order to clarify what was truly happening in the heart of Simon and in the heart of this woman, He shared this parable.

And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” 50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:40-50

“Your sins have been forgiven.” Jesus’ words must have hung in the room like think smoke on which the self-righteous practically choked. “Who is this person claiming they have the power to forgive?” “Even if he had the power to forgive sins, this woman cannot be forgiven by God or anyone else.” However, the direct implication to Simon was “your sins, though they may be fewer than this woman, are not forgiven.” “Simon, her sins are forgiven but yours remain because you think too highly of yourself and too lowly of others.” If there is no contrition for our sins, then there is no forgiveness from God. However, when contrition has come into a person’s life, there is humility. Humility before God. This woman displayed her humbility in her humble service toward God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Humility toward others. This humility toward others begins with our thoughts toward them. Simon’s lack of humility was reflected in his condemning thoughts toward the woman. Jesus exposed his thoughts for what they were. If we are humble then our thoughts will be dominated with compassion for sinners. This is the issue for our hearts today. Is the attitude of humility toward others the pervasive attitude of our hearts and minds? Has the full weight of the enormous grace of God fallen on us enough to see through gracious eyes the failings of others. Today, may we be able to say with the psalmist, “lead the humble in justice and teach the humble Your ways.”

Prayer Focus
Oh Lord, give me a pure heart and a pure mind. May I see Your grace for what it truly is, amazing. As I live each day in Your grace, produce grace in me for others. Help me to walk in humility. As one forgiven, may my gratitude for Your grace change my attitude toward those around me who also are in need of Your grace. Amen. 

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice
The broken-hearted man is a man that sees himself as spiritually poor. Therefore, as humble and contrite, so poor and contrite are put together in the Word. 'But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit' (Isa 66:1, 2). And here we still pursue our metaphor. A wounded man, a man with broken bones, concludes his condition to be very poor. Ask him how he does, and he answers, 'Truly, neighbors, in a very poor condition!' Also you have the spiritual poverty of such as have their hearts broken, and that have been of contrite spirits, much made mention of in the Word. And they go by two names to distinguish them from others. They are called poor, that is, God's poor; they are also called 'the poor in spirit' (Psa 72:2, 74:19; Matt 5:3). Now, the man that is poor in his own eyes, of him we now discourse, and the broken-hearted is such a one, is sensible of his needs. He knows he cannot help himself, and therefore is forced to be content to live by the charity of others. Thus it is in nature, thus it is in grace. The broken-hearted now knows his needs, and he knew it not till now. As he that has a broken bone, knew no want of a bone-setter till he knew his bone was broken. His broken bone makes him know it; his pain and anguish makes him know it; and thus it is in the spiritual realm. Now he sees to be poor is to want the sense of the favor of God; for his great pain is a sense of wrath. And the voice of joy would heal his broken bones (Psa 51:8).