Sunday March 12
Prayers of Forgiveness Psalm 51
By Pastor Luke Maggard
We have titled this message prayers of forgiveness, but it could easily be called prayers of repentance. Psalm 51 is a perfect example of what it means to repent of sins and ask for forgiveness from God.
As David writes this Psalm he has been confronted with his own sins before God. The prophet Nathan had confronted him, by the leading of God, about committing adultery with Bathsheeba. David was trying to sweep his sin under the rug, but God wouldn’t let him hide it.
When it all came out David was heartbroken at his own sins and mistakes, and cried out to God saying, “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” (v. 2) God hears David in this prayer, and hears his true heart of repentance, and he is forgiven.
David’s interaction with God here can make us ask the question, what does it look like to have a true heart of repentance? From Psalm 51 I see three things from David’s heart of repentance.
First, fully confess our sins. Don’t hide anything from God, because we can’t. God will be able to see through any lies. To have a true heart of repentance is to not hold anything back when we are confessing our sins to God.
Second, recognize God’s faithfulness and ability to forgive. I love the imagery of verse 7, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” With these words David is recognizing that God can cleanse him from the inside out, and he is asking Him to do just that. Don’t forget that God can forgive, and ask Him to do so.
Lastly, to have a true heart of repentance we have to change our ways. David confesses his sins and recognizes who God is in verses one through twelve, and then in versus thirteen through nineteen he shares what comes after his forgiveness. He will “teach transgressors your way,” v. 13 “sing of your righteousness” v. 14 “declare your praise.”
When we have repented of our sins, and have been forgiven, we can’t keep living the way we did before. We have to keep working to follow Jesus more and more. We also can’t forget to share the forgiveness that God can give with others, as we read David did.
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Monday, March 13th
Praying For Forgiveness
By Iona Sewell
Psalm 51
In reading King David’s prayer in Psalm 51, I am gripped by his gut-wrenching honesty as he describes his adultery with Bathsheba and plotted the death of her husband, Uriah. Words like “evil, sinful, guilt, iniquity, transgressions, sins…” are scattered through these verses. David does not try to sidestep his actions with excuses but reveals an attitude of truthfulness as he states clearly…”For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight.”vs. 3-4a
David’s attitude of genuineness speaks volumes when praying for forgiveness. We have to own our sin, repent of it humbly and seek help in overcoming it.
David’s requests of God are specific to his sins…”Blot out [my transgressions], Wash me [thoroughly from my iniquity], cleanse me [from my sin], purge me [with hyssop and I shall be clean], wash me [and I shall be whiter than snow], make me hear [joy and gladness], hide Your face [from my sins], blot out [all my iniquities, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me, do not cast me away [from Your presence], do not take your Holy Spirit from me, restore to me [the joy of Your salvation], and uphold me by Your generous Spirit, deliver me [from the guilt of bloodshed], open [my lips] and my mouth shall show forth Your praise!”
All of these specific requests from David reveal his desire to cover all areas of his life where disobedience has occurred and to take responsibility where he has sinned. These action words give permission to God to change David’s heart as God wants.
What makes David stand out as a man after God’s own heart, Acts 13:22, especially in light of his horrific sins of adultery and murder? As Christians, we sometimes rank sins that seem more heinous than others and forget that, in God’s eyes, sin is sin. Gossip, lying and coveting are as wrong as adultery or murder. What God wants from us in seeking forgiveness is this same kind of truthful repentance and being genuinely sorrowful by taking full responsibility for what we did. As we humbly accept God’s mercy and forgiveness, we too will be able to say “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and redeemer!” Psalm 19:14
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Tuesday, March 14th
Flawed and Repentant
Andy Osman
When I became a Christian, I spent the next three to four years reading and studying both the Old and New Testament. What shocked me the most was how flawed all of the characters were. The people God blessed and made covenants with had serious issues with being bright and shining moral examples of the past, all save for Jesus. The fact is that no matter who we are, what positions we hold in life, or how wealthy we become, God sees us on a level playing field. However in this life God holds people in positions of great influence to a greater standard, and their judgment when he comes will remember this.
King David was a person of faith that was tempted and failed in private as well as public sin. His sin brought shame to himself, the people who looked up to him as a leader, and God. King David prayed to God with an open heart and his sin was forgiven. He also publicly confessed his sin and sought forgiveness from everyone who witnessed the sin. He also sought out people who were hurt by this sin as he was able. He confessed in private and sought their forgiveness. What would the world look like today if our leaders, preachers, teachers, judges, police, heads of government, press, lawyers, and actors all practiced this today?
To pray for forgiveness we must acknowledge and understand our sin. Our heart must be seeking forgiveness, yearning for the peace and comfort we had with God before our sin. We must also seek forgiveness from those we have sinned against.
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Wednesday, March 15th
As we approach another time of prayer on Wednesday, let us be reminded that praying for forgiveness requires us to repent and confess our sins to God. Take some time today to verbally confess your sins to God. It may even be beneficial to write them out. Once you have done that intentionally say something like “Forgive me for my sins Oh Lord.” Then with confidence know that you are forgiven.
Lord, we come before you knowing that we have sinned, both in ways we know and even in ways we don’t. As we confess our sins before you Lord, forgive us and remind us of who we have been called to be. Amen
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Thursday, March 16th
Turn To God
By Curt Binnion
Psalm 51
– Sincerity
– Tighten the lid of carnality
– Humility, hope, reverence and realism
Here David made a known error. Now what to do?
He went straight to the Lord. He immediately turned to the Lord.
– He asked for forgiveness
– He asked for restoration “not to be forgotten”
– He completes a specific request, “grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” Meaning I can’t do it alone.
Then he asks for his next work.
I need to remember that oneness with the Lord gives clarity.
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Friday, March 17th
Prayers for Forgiveness
By Pastor Barb Tuttle
Psalm 51:1-2, 10-12 (NLT)
1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit[d] from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you.
Being real with ourselves is so important to receiving forgiveness that truly restores our soul. God is willing, and even promises, to forgive. Forgiveness is an act of divine grace, God’s love and compassion for each of us. The Cross proves that. But do we honestly confess the sin that is separating us from God? Are we mourning that separation, and truly acknowledging we are in desperate need of God’s grace?
With God’s forgiveness comes restoration. When we honestly reveal the sin in our lives and receive the forgiveness of the Lord, we have been cleaned, renewed, refreshed, and restored.
When we get out of the shower we don’t put our dirty clothes back on, we change; put on clean clothes. When we ask for forgiveness, God delivers. We should move forward, not repeating, or allowing guilt to remain. God forgives us, so we need to forgive ourselves and others.
Dear Lord, thank you for never turning away from me, always willing to forgive and love me. Help me Lord to forgive myself and others in the same way. Help me to draw nearer to you Lord. Amen
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Saturday, March 18th
Prayer of Repentance
Every Saturday we will have a prayer that we can pray ourselves to focus on repenting of our sins, and receiving forgiveness for them. It will be the same prayer each week. It is a prayer by John Wesely, the father of the Methodist movement, that is called Forgive Our Sins. We would encourage you to take a few moments and pray this prayer and confess your sins to God. He will hear you, and will forgive you.
Forgive them all, O Lord:
our sins of omission and our sins of commission;
the sins of our youth and the sins of our riper years;
the sins of our souls and the sins of our bodies;
our secret and our more open sins;
our sins of ignorance and surprise,
…..and our more deliberate and presumptuous sins;
the sins we have done to please others;
the sins we know and remember,
…..and the sins we have forgotten;
the sins we have striven to hide from others
….and the sins by which we have made others offend;
forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all for his sake, who died for our sins and rose for our justification,.and now stands at thy right hand to make intercession for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.
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