Wednesday, February 20, 2008
PSALM Prayer of Confession

Today’s psalm emphasizes on confession. In psalm 51, we see David confessing his sin to God, a sin that he thought nothing of until the prophet Nathan accused him to his face of the sin that he had committed.

David, the greatest king of Israel’s history could have had Nathan killed for his daring public confrontation or he could have thrown him to prison and denied the accusation. However, David knew that Nathan spoke for God and instead confesses his sin openly to the Lord, indeed showing that he is a man after God’s heart. He recognizes that God was the true king of Israel and he humbled himself instead of letting the pride of a king get the better of him.

I admire David’s humble heart and character. How many of us can be like David? Do we recognize God as the King of kings and the Lord of lords? Do we know our place before God? Do we even recognize the fact that we are sinful in nature? David does, he recognizes that he has been sinful since the time his mother conceived him. He also asks the Lord to cleanse him from his sins and to wash away his iniquity.

Psalm51 has indeed been a reminder for me to confess any sin that I have yet to confess to the Lord. It says in 1 John 1:9 that ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’ I think that this psalm is very suitable as a prayer of confession for many of us and since pastor encourages us to pray through the psalms, would you use this as your prayer today?

I like what v10-12 says:
‘Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.’ Indeed, I would make it my prayer today.

Labels: Devotion, PSALM devotions