Praying for a Repentant Heart
True repentance
involves both conviction and confession. Conviction without confession is
guilt, but it is the confession that takes away the guilt.
Repentance comes
from realizing your own sin and the need to make things right. David wrote
Psalm 51 after the prophet Nathan confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba.
David named it what it was—sin, transgression, and iniquity. He was admitting
what he did. He called it what it was and did not excuse it by using a word
like mistake, slip-up, or something else to reduce the severity of the offense.
David realized that
his sin was against the Lord. (Psalm 51:4) He knew what delights God’s heart –
truthfulness, being honest about our sin, not blaming others or excusing it.
Then he asked for cleaning, to be washed. Then that repentance opened the way
to restored joy. The relationship was restored and David was praising God.
Our repentance
should come from a broken spirit, as we realize what happens as a result of our
sin. God will not despise us.
David is called a
man after God’s own heart. Yes, he sinned—but it is his repentant heart, his
grief over his sin that set him apart as a man after God’s own heart. In our
experience, too, repentance leads to a changed heart.
A repentant heart see God’s holiness and his
own sin and knows that all he can do is repent. It is through humble confession
that the relationship is restored.
Do you see God as
holy? Do you understand how our sin breaks our relationship with God and
others? Be assured that God delights to hear our confession.
Don't miss the others in this series.
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