Scripture to Read: Psalm 51:10–11
There are a lot of Christians today who, when they sin, will still pray Psalm 51:10–11, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” The reason many pray this is because they still do not understand what Christ has done for us. When we surrendered to Christ as Lord, God gave us a brand-new heart (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:4, Galatians 6:15) and made us new in Christ because His Holy Spirit came to live in us (Ephesians 4:30). So, if we’re going to pray Psalm 51:10–11, it should be a prayer of thanksgiving. We must thank our Lord for giving us His Spirit and creating in us a clean heart through the blood sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Also, as David requested that God not take His Spirit from Him, at the time, that was exactly the proper request because God's Spirit did not permanently live in followers of God. The Holy Spirit came upon people but did not live in them as He does now. We have zero fear of God casting us away from His presence or His Holy Spirit leaving us. As His children, we belong to Him for eternity. What we must do is guard our hearts so that we do not grieve or quench His Spirit (Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:19) by choosing to live in sin, knowing He lives in us.
Challenge & Application
· Why can we turn Psalm 51:10–11 into a prayer of “thanks” to God instead of “asking" God as David did?
· How has what you learned today changed your perspective on what Christ has done for you?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!