Tag Archives: Psalm 51

November 9, 2022 · 5:44 AM

Rekindle Your Fire

One of my favorite things to do is to sit around a campfire and talk. I could do it for hours. People instinctively know to put another log on the fire. No one has to say it. Stories and conversations flow, and aren’t interrupted by putting more logs on it. When it’s time to go to bed, we just let the fire burn down to a bed of coals. In the morning, I’m usually the first one up. I’ll grab a log and a couple of smaller sticks and head over to the ashes. Buried deep beneath the ash, there’s usually a couple of embers left. I put the smaller sticks on top of them, get my face close to the ground, take a deep breath and blow as much air as I can onto those embers. In a matter of moments, the fire is back to going strong and the conversations continue.

We know that David was a man after God’s own heart. He fully trusted in Him and loved His Word. Because of his faith in God he slew a giant, he took on large numbers of the enemy and waited until God was ready for him to be king. His fire for God was unmatched, but at some point he quit putting new logs on the fire. 2 Samuel 11 starts off by telling us that when it was time for the kings to go to war, David stayed home and outsourced his position. He quit doing what he was supposed to. That’s when temptation struck and he sinned with Bathsheba. When God confronted him through the prophet, David chose to rekindle his fire and wrote Psalm 51. He continued to tend his fire after that and it burned bright until he died.

2 Timothy 1:6 says, “This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you” (NLT). It’s natural for us to seasons when we’re on fire for God and season where we’re just not feeling. We may go through the motions or just turn a cold shoulder to God. Either way, God is calling us to tend our fire and to return to our first love. We don’t have to go through what David did to return. We simply need to recognize that we need to have the Holy Spirit reignite our heart and passion for God. Those embers are still there and can be reignited. The gifts that have been lying dormant are ready to be rekindled and blaze for God’s glory. Don’t let another day pass. Read Psalm 51 as a prayer to fan the flames of your heart toward God.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop:

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April 6, 2022 · 5:45 AM

Heartfelt Prayers

There are some incredible prayers recorded in the Bible that I’m sure you’ve read and or prayed. The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-12) is one that nearly everyone has memorized and prayed at one time or another. The prayer of Jabez (1Chronicles 4:10) is a great prayer to increase the things you have in order to be a blessing. I’ve prayed David’s prayer (Psalm 51:10-12) for forgiveness before in order to have a changed heart. The last one I’ll mention is Mary’s prayer of submission (Luke 1:38) right after she was told she would carry the Savior of the world. She simply asked God to have His will and to do what He said.

All these prayers have something in common. They’re pretty short. They are some of the most powerful prayers in the Bible, yet they’re not long or complicated. Sometimes I think we overly complicate prayer thinking that we have to say the right words, speak to God in King James or impress Him with the length of our prayers. While there’s nothing wrong with praying that way, God is simply looking at our heart. All these prayers I’ve mentioned are heartfelt prayers that touched God and resonate with us. You can pray them, but if you do, make sure they’re coming from your heart and not your memory.

Just before Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer, in Matthew 6:7 He reminded us, “And when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” (AMP). Heartfelt prayer isn’t about repetition. It’s crying out to God in your moment of need. It’s being vulnerable about your insecurities. It’s conversing with God on a personal level. While these memorized prayers have their place, they cannot replace your conversations with God entirely. You must be real with God, and He will be real with you. Open up to Him today, speaking from your heart. He doesn’t measure our prayers for their length or flowery words. He honors heartfelt prayers no matter how long or uncomplicated they are.

Photo by West Kenya Union Conference Adventist Media on Unsplash

Quit Performing

Most of what we do in life is performance based. When I was in school, my grades were not based on my intentions, but on the quality of the work I did. Each year at my job I have a meeting with my boss to go over a performance appraisal. We look at the work I’ve done and the impact it’s had. The more boxes I check off on that form, the greater my raise. Since we were born, others have evaluated our performance and decided our worth. It’s something that has been ingrained in us since day one. That’s why it’s often a shock to us that God doesn’t give us salvation because of our performance.

In Psalm 51, you will find one of the greatest prayers in the Bible. David had just gotten a married woman pregnant, then had her husband killed and married her to cover it up. God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David regarding his sin. Instead of getting defensive or making excuses, David wept and begged God for forgiveness. In verses 16-17 he prayed, “For the source of your pleasure is not in my performance or the sacrifices I might offer to you. The fountain of your pleasure is found in the sacrifice of my shattered heart before you” (TPT).

If we were tasked with swimming from the US to the UK, some of us wouldn’t make it very far. Other might make it a few miles, but none of us would make it across. Our performance will never bridge the gap between our sin and God’s holiness. The only way to cross over is to have a repentant heart. Jesus is in the boat of salvation waiting to pick us up and take us across, but we have to understand it’s not about our performance. It’s about His grace. There’s nothing you or I can do to make Him love us more or less. There’s nothing we can do to earn salvation. It’s a free gift that comes from confessing our sins and trusting in His kindness.

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All Things New

One of the most beautiful sinner’s prayers is found in Psalm 51. David, the man after God’s own heart, is praying in response to having committed adultery with Bathsheba and consequently murdering her husband when she got pregnant. His sin reminds us that none of us are above sinning, no matter how close we are to God. His prayer shows us that we can be made right with God, no matter how far away we feel we are.

In verse 3, he started out, “I recognize my faults; I am always conscious of my sins” (GNT). Each one of us knows ourselves better than anyone. If we are honest with ourselves, we can point out our own faults and know where we are broken inside. Too many of us spend a lifetime trying to cover those up and pretending like we’re fine. When we forget or hide those things, we open ourselves up to walking into sin and failure.

Verse 7 says, “Remove my sin, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” None of us are capable of removing our own sin or healing our brokenness. David trusted God’s forgiveness to be absolute, and we should too. When God forgives us, our sin is gone. We too should let it go and quit living in the shame of our past failures. The stain of our sin is gone. If God has forgiven you, you should forgive yourself too. Your freedom is found in forgiveness from God and self.

My favorite part of this prayer comes from verse 10. David prayed, “Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.” David didn’t like his brokenness. Instead of trying to live with it and defeat it over and over again, he prayed God would heal it. God is more than able to heal our brokenness and create something new in us. Remember, when Jesus forgives us, our old life passes away and all things become new, including our heart. Trust the work that God has done in your life and live in the freedom He gave you.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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