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40 Days of Prayer, Day 12

Day 12, Thursday, September 1

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51:10-11

God the Creator and the Re-creator

God is in the creating business. God created the universe. At the end of time God will recreate the heavens and the earth. Between the beginning of the initial creation and the new creation of heaven and earth, God still creates. He creates each person in His image. He also recreates each person that puts their faith in Christ Jesus. He breathes spiritual life into us. He makes us a new creation in Christ Jesus. Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” Paul told the church, “Anyone who is in Christ Jesus is a new creation.” What David requested, God has done for anyone who puts their faith in Christ. God, in Christ, continues His incredible creative touch.

The work of God in bringing new life to those who believe in Him comes by the power of the Spirit of God. Even in this Psalm David requested the creative power of God to provide a clean heart. Then, one verse later, David asked God, “Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” David linked the presence of God and the power of God’s Holy Spirit with a renewed spirit and a clean heart. Jesus connected these themes in John 3. In John Chapter 3, Nicodemus, a very religious Jewish man, approached Jesus. “Teacher, we know that You are a teacher sent from God for no one can do the things You do unless God is with Him.” Jesus responded to Nicodemus with some of the themes of David in Psalm 51:10-11. “You must be born again.” The Creator of life must recreate life in us. Just as David needed God to create a clean heart in him, we need God to use His creative power to bring about a second birth in us. The role of the Spirit of God is involved in the rebirth just as David requested the work of the Spirit of God in his clean heart. Later in John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that the means of the rebirth comes by the work of the Spirit of God. John 3:5-8 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

The necessity of the work of the Spirit

This request by David in Psalm 51 and the statements by Jesus to Nicodemus in John 3 both reflect the necessity of the work of the Spirit of God in our lives. Psalm 51 and John 3 both address the insufficiency of mere external religious life. David was the king of the nation of Israel and a regular participant in its religious life. Nicodemus was a religious leader in Israel, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. In both cases, their own religious efforts were insufficient. David came to that conclusion when confronted with His own sin through the prophet Nathan. Nicodemus was confronted with that reality when the greatest prophet ever, Jesus Christ, challenged him. We cannot achieve a right relationship with God on our own or through religious means. God must do a work in us by the power of His Holy Spirit. We must be born again. God must create in us a clean heart. God, by the power of His Holy Spirit, offers this rebirth, this clean heart, to all who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer Focus

Dear Lord, I know that apart from Your work of rebirth through Your Holy Spirit that I am spiritually and eternally dead.  Heavenly Father, I believe that You sent Your Son Jesus Christ into the world.  I believe that He lived a perfect life and died on the cross in my place.  I believe that three days later He rose again from the dead, conquering sin and death.  Nothing good resides in me on my own.  Please forgive me of all my sins and come into my life.  I receive Your gift of salvation by faith.  I receive Jesus Christ as my Savior and I submit to Him as my Lord.  Now, dear Lord, as You have given me spiritual life, help me to live for You.  I pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ my Savior, Amen.

From Bunyan's book The Contrite Heart

As God prefers such a heart, and so esteems the man that has it; as he desires his company, has provided for him his gracious encouragement, and given a charge to Christ to heal him, so he has promised in conclusion to save him. 'He save such as be of a contrite spirit, ' or that be 'contrite of spirit' (Psa 34:18).  And this is the conclusion of all; for to save a man is the end of all special mercy. 'He saves such as be of a contrite spirit.' To save is to forgive; for without forgiveness of sins we cannot be saved. To save, is to preserve one in this miserable world, and to deliver one from all those devils, temptations, snares, and destructions that would, were we not kept, were we not preserved of God, destroy us body and soul forever. To save, is to bring a man body and soul to glory, and to give him an eternal mansion house in heaven, that he may dwell in the presence of this good God, and the Lord Jesus, and to sing to them the songs of his redemption forever and ever. This it is to be saved; nor can anything less than this complete the salvation of the sinner. Now, this is to be the lot of him that is of a broken heart, and the end that God will make with him that is of a contrite spirit. 'He saves such as be contrite of spirit.' He saves such! This is excellent!

40 Days of Prayer, Day 11

Day 11, Wednesday, August 31

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51:10-11

Create in me a Clean Heart

One of my favorite writers is Charles Spurgeon. He has an incredible way of explaining the scriptures. Spurgeon spent several years writing a commentary for the Book of Psalms. It is an incredible, seven volume set. His comments on Psalm 51:10 are a terrific sample of the types of pictures he paints with words. Take a moment to read Spurgeon on Psalm 51:10…

“Create. What! Has sin so destroyed us that the Creator must be called in again? What ruin has evil worked among mankind! Create in me. I, in my outward fabric, still exist; but I am empty, void. Come, then, and let Your power be seen in a new creation within my old fallen self. You made us in the world at first; Lord, make a new person in me! A clean heart, in the seventh verse he asked to be clean; now he seeks a heart suitable to that cleanliness; but he does not say, "Make my old heart clean;" he is too experienced in the hopelessness of the old nature. He would have the old man buried as a dead thing, and a new creation brought in to fill its place. None but God can create either a new heart or a new earth. Salvation is a marvelous display of supreme power; the work in us as much as that for us is wholly of Omnipotence. The affections must be rectified first, or all our nature will go amiss. The heart is the rudder of the soul, and till the Lord take it in hand we steer in a false and foul way. O Lord, You who once made me, be pleased to make me anew, and in my most secret parts renew me. Renew a right spirit within me. It was there once, Lord, put it there again. The law on my heart has become like an inscription hard to read: write it anew, gracious Maker. Remove the evil as I have entreated You; but, O replace it with good. The two sentences make a complete prayer. Create what is not there at all; renew that which is there, but is in a sadly feeble state.”

Prayer Focus
Thank You God for Your creative power. You have made the heavens and the earth. As David asked, so I ask, create in me a clean heart. Clean my thoughts and my attitudes. Create in me a clean heart so that I might be used by You to bring honor to Your name.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice
And behold again into whose care a broken heart and a contrite spirit has put this poor creature; he is under the care of God, the care and cure of Christ. If a man was sure that his disease had put him under the special care of the king and the queen, yet could he not be sure of life, he might die under their sovereign hands. Ay, but here is a man in the favor of God, and under the hand of Christ to be healed; under whose hand none yet ever died for want of skill and power in him to save their life; wherefore this man must live; Christ has in commission not only to bind up his wounds, but to heal him. He has of himself so expounded it in reading his commission; wherefore he that has his heart broken, and that is of a contrite spirit, must not only be taken in hand, but healed; healed of his pain, grief, sorrow, sin, and fears of death and hell; wherefore he adds, that he must give unto such 'beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, ' and must 'comfort all that mourn' (Isa 61:2, 3). This, I say, he has in the commission, the broken-hearted are put into his hand, and he has said himself he will heal him. Hence he says of that same man, 'I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore comforts to him, and to his mourners; - and I will heal him' (Isa 57:18, 19).

40 Days of Prayer, Day 10

Day 10, Tuesday, August 30

“Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51:1-2

The Psalms of David
David’s sin with Bathsheba occurred after over two decades of David’s reign as the King of Israel. From the time of his youth, he had composed music for a variety of purposes, even singing before the prior king of Israel. Prior to writing Psalm 51, David had written many other psalms over his life as a shepherd and during the time of his public life as king. In fact, about half of all of the psalms in the Book of Psalms were composed by David. That means David wrote some 75 songs with a wide variety of themes. He wrote the praise songs of the nation, including songs of liberation and songs of thanksgiving. He wrote songs that described the creative power of God. He wrote about the lovingkindness of God in daily life. He crafted several psalms that reflected on God’s rescuing power in times of trouble for Israel. David even wrote intensely personal songs that described God’s faithfulness when enemies surrounded him. All of these psalms identified aspects of the character of God as the underpinnings of praise and worship.

Just for the sake of comparison, consider some of the introductions to David’s psalms.

Psalm 4, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.”

Psalm 8, “Oh Lord our Lord how majestic is Your name in all the earth Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!”

Psalm 16, “I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Psalm 29, “Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.”

Psalm 34, “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;

Psalm 59, “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.”

Psalm 101, “I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.”

Psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.”

Psalm 139, “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar...and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.”

Psalm 144, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle; My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.”

Some of these psalms are so hopeful in their message. Some of them are so worshipful in their expressions. Many of them are directed toward God, a cry of the heart of the psalmist. In Psalm 51, David cried out to God, which David had done in many of his psalms as we just read. Only in this psalm he doesn’t cry out a blessing to God. He doesn’t bless God for the creation. He doesn’t shout thanks to God for His past provisions for Israel. He doesn’t ask God to rescue Israel from her enemies. David doesn’t even seek God’s rescue from his own personal enemies. The Book of Psalms is filled with all of these types of expressions to God by David. There is a striking contrast in Psalm 51 when compared to David’s other writings. In Psalm 51, David asked God to save him. Only this time, David asked God to save him from God. God and His holy character became the enemy to David. David and his adulterous and murderous acts stoked the anger of His Divine Adversary. Later in this psalm he declares, “Against You and You only have I sinned so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.” David prayed to God in order to be rescued from God, from His just judgment and wrath. Often times we will say, “Jesus died to save us from our sins.” This is true. But the reason we need to be saved from our sins is God’s holy character, God’s justice and righteousness. Outside of the grace of God in Christ, we would bear the full weight of God’s just punishment for sin. In Christ, God has saved us from His own wrath. The beauty in this stark realization is that God longs to extend His mercy. Isaiah 30:18 says it this way, “Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.”  In Christ God saves us from His own just wrath. In Christ God saves us from Himself, which is something He loves to do. We deserve wrath. He moved heaven and earth so that we could receive mercy. For those who have faith in Christ, the love of God has conquered.

Prayer Focus

O God, You have saved me.  You have saved me from my sin.  You have saved me from the consequence of my sin.  You have provided Jesus Christ as my substitute.  I confess that outside of Christ I deserve a just condemnation.  In Christ, You now see me as completely forgiven.  Thank You for Your grace.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice

As God prefers such a heart, and esteems the man that has it above heaven and earth; as he covets intimacy with such an one, and prepares for him his cordials; so when he sent his Son Jesus into the world to be a Savior, he gave him in special a charge to take care of such; yea, that was one of the main reasons he sent him down from heaven, anointed for his work on earth. 'The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, ' He says; 'because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, ' & c. (Luke 4:18; Isa 61:1). Now that this is meant of Christ, is confirmed by his own lips; for in the days of his flesh he takes this book in his hand, when he was in the synagogue at Nazareth, and read this very place unto the people; and then tells them that that very day that Scripture was fulfilled in their ears (Luke 6:16-18).