“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you.” Psalm 51:10-12, NLT
The 51st Psalm began to resonate in my heart the night I realized that I didn’t love Jesus as much as I thought or had convinced myself that I did. There were still people, places and things that I hadn’t entirely given over to God and my relationship with Him was suffering because of it. I couldn’t even pray without being distracted by these issues … these things that had I given them over to and left in the hands of God, would have been water under the bridge, freeing me to live this life with faithful abandon.
The 51st Psalm began to resonate in my heart the night I realized that I didn’t love Jesus as much as I thought or had convinced myself that I did. There were still people, places and things that I hadn’t entirely given over to God and my relationship with Him was suffering because of it. I couldn’t even pray without being distracted by these issues … these things that had I given them over to and left in the hands of God, would have been water under the bridge, freeing me to live this life with faithful abandon.
I had always been familiar with the 51st Psalm but it took on a whole new meaning when I realized just how wretched I had been. I was guilty of going through the motions of religion and religious rituals and allowing them to replace that which was more important; a relationship with the Almighty.
King David knew and understood that what God really wanted was relationship. God wanted the heart behind the deeds.
“You do not desire sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”Psalm 51:16-17
Seeing this with my own eyes and understanding it with my own heart has been one of the sweetest revelations about the love of God that I have ever had. He loved me and desired a reciprocal relationship with me! Going through the motions of religion was meaningless to Him. The content of my heart held a lot more weight as far as He was concerned.
So, the 51st Psalm became the song of my heart. It became my deepest desire concerning my Heavenly Father. And for the rest of my days I will continue to pray this prayer of King David, a man after God’s own heart because I want nothing more than to be a woman after God’s own heart, a mirror image of Him and canvas upon which to create a divine masterpiece.
Seeing this with my own eyes and understanding it with my own heart has been one of the sweetest revelations about the love of God that I have ever had. He loved me and desired a reciprocal relationship with me! Going through the motions of religion was meaningless to Him. The content of my heart held a lot more weight as far as He was concerned.
So, the 51st Psalm became the song of my heart. It became my deepest desire concerning my Heavenly Father. And for the rest of my days I will continue to pray this prayer of King David, a man after God’s own heart because I want nothing more than to be a woman after God’s own heart, a mirror image of Him and canvas upon which to create a divine masterpiece.
My 51st Psalm Prayer
Lord, fashion for me a new heart of which the contents are pleasing in Your sight. Don’t turn away from me, I couldn’t bear it. Please don’t take the sweet peace of your presence away from me. Help me to remain joyful in my walk and service to you, even when things get hard. I ask these things because I want to worship you with a clean, purified, overflowing, unhindered heart and faithful abandon. I don’t want anything to stand in the way of what is yours; a heart that is unequivocally YOURS. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. © 2009
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