David's Prayer for Forgiveness

⁹Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
¹²Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
¹³Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
-Psalm 51:9-13


Have you ever thought about sin? Usually, the only time we discuss sin is when we are trying to reach someone for Christ. Have you ever though about the impact of sin on a believer? Sin is what separates us from God, it's what we need to be forgiven for to get salvation. Yet, people don't really talk about sin in the life of a believer. It's like, "OK, I'm forgiven, now I don't have to worry about sin any more." True, we can't lose our salvation, but a believer who continues living a life of sin will not produce the fruit and the life that God expects. Sin has dire consequences, both for the believer and the unbeliever. In today's Bible passages, we see the power of sin in the life of a believer. We read a Psalm written by David after he was confronted of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. I'm not going to rewrite the entire Psalm, I trust you will read it on your own. But, the verses I've presented above give the crux of the Psalm. Let's break it down.


Verses 9 & 11 are pleas from David as he has recognized his sin. "Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities...Cast me not from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me." Look at what David is praying here. He is asking God to hide His face from his sins. Did you ever stop and think about that. What you do in secret, in the privacy of your room, God sees. What man may not see, God does. David realized this and is asking God to, essentially, turn His eyes from his sins. What would you do different in life if you'd think about God seeing you sin? Then he asks God to blot out his iniquities. What does that term "iniquities" mean. According to thefreedictionary.com , it means 1. Gross immorality or injustice; wickedness. 2. A grossly immoral act; a sin. Iniquities simply means sin, or evil. David is asking God to hide His face from his sin, and blot out all his evilness. When was the last time you asked God to blot out all your evilness? David then asks God to not kick him out of His presence. Remember, sin is what separates us from God. God can't stand sin and will not have sin in His presence. David knew that, and he didn't want to be separated from God. Finally, he asks God to not take away his holy spirit. I don't know if David was referring to the Holy Spirit as we know Him today, but I think he, at least, didn't want God to take away the spirit of God in David. He didn't want God to remove His hand from him, because of his sin.


Verses 10 & 12 find David asking God to clean him up. "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me...Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit." After David confesses his sin, he asks God to do some remodeling work on his life. He asks God to: create a clean heart, renew a right spirit, restore the joy of salvation and to hold him up. Look at that list. By creating a clean heart, David would enjoy fellowship with God. By having the right spirit in him, David would be able to live the life God wanted.


Finally, after David confessed his sin, and had the remodeling work done in his life, he was ready to  return to the Lord's work. Look at verse 13, "Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee." There is an important lesson to be found in this one verse. David says that he will teach others sinners that ways of God, after he has restored his fellowship with God. That's important, because we must show an authentic Christian life to those who need God. I'm always telling others not to judge Jesus by his followers. Unbelievers can smell fake Christians from a mile away, but those who are true believers, they respond to. Do you have unconfessed sin in your life? Is there something, some habitual sin that you are always involved in. Confess it to God. Use these verses as your prayer today. Ask God to create in you a clean heart, so that you can show others the way home. Think  About It.