“Create in me clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your Salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.”
Psalm 51:10-13
David, a man after God’s heart, loved and walked with His God. And yet, the talons of temptation slipped into David’s mind; he turned away from God as he pursued his own transgression which destroyed his joy and peace, running away from the loving-kindness and compassion of his Heavenly Father. When confronted with his sin, David remembered the Lord, his faithful God, and he prayed… “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.”
And God answered David’s heartfelt cry and his sacrifice of a contrite heart as he confessed his sin against God. The Almighty God granted David’s request for his spirit to be renewed and for his heart to be cleansed. David was able to once again say,
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation…”
2 Samuel 22:2, 3
As you journey on the road of life, embrace the pilgrims with whom you travel…
So Deeply Humbled
Several years ago I began to pray with a group of women. Our backgrounds and lifestyles were very diverse, but the common thread and attraction was the desire of each woman to pray and to lift up the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We chose to meet in an inner city café, World Cup Café, owned and operated by Mission Waco. We were welcomed and allowed to move tables to accommodate the group on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. From 10 a.m.-11 a.m. each Tuesday, the group meets in the middle of the café to share prayer requests and to pray for the city of Waco, local ministries, the government and its leaders, for each other, and for the Kingdom of God.
On this particular day in August, three years ago, women from seven different churches met and enjoyed coffee and cookies, waiting for the 10:00 start-time. One of the ladies had brought a friend to prayer for the first time. She had shared with me that this woman struggled with addictions and chose to be homeless much of the time. Although she had family locally, she was often at odds with them as she battled the giants in her life. However, she found her way into a church on many Sundays; on this Tuesday, she found her way to prayer.
At 10:00, prayer began. Praise God for who He is…Praise God for what He is…Praise God for what He does…He is our Deliverer, He is our Refuge, He is our Strong tower, He is our Rock, He is our Salvation, He is our Healer, He is our Provider, He is our loving Father, He is the Restorer of our souls…Thank you God that you love us and that we are your daughters, each one of us.
And the thanksgiving continued as testimonies were shared of God’s faithfulness in the lives of these women, a pastor’s wife thanked her “Great and loving Master” for His healing mercies, although she faced a fourth surgery. One woman was regaining eyesight after cataract surgery, and thanked God for her spiritual vision as she enjoyed the presence of her Loving Father. Another new friend joined us that day and was a double amputee and dependent on her wheelchair and her friends for her transportation. As the prayers moved around the table, she spoke a simple, “Thank you God for my beautiful life… Amen.”
The prayer time continued as the requests were lifted up to the Father: Prayers for the city churches and pastors, for local schools, for our government and for all in authority. Prayers for the military soldiers and their families, for the elderly, for children and families, for broken families to be repaired and restored. Prayers continued for people who were blinded by the enemy’s darkness…
We sat in silence for several seconds waiting for the next prayer points, and then the voice of the woman who was sitting by me. Her voice was raspy and her face was tired. She politely asked to read something from her Bible, Psalm 51. I was struck as I thought about her homelessness, and the fact that she held her worn Bible, one of her few possessions. I quickly turned in my Bible to the familiar words of King David, her voice becoming bolder as she began to read.
A sensation of humility swept over me as she deliberately read the Psalm of confession and repentance. As she read, confessing her sin against God, I felt my own sense of unworthiness…uncleanness…I watched as her hand moved slowly down the page of her Bible as she read each verse. Then, her voice faltered, and I saw tears falling onto the page of her Bible. I looked at her face and the tears flowed freely wetting the page, her voice continuing the reading…the tears falling.
I knew that the Lord saw the beauty in these shed tears as they washed her heart and bathed this precious woman in the Grace and Mercy of His love… She then shared her transgressions with the group and how she would slip away from God, only to have Him gently pull her back to His side with His strong right hand.
Her authenticity and transparency overwhelmed me. She modeled exactly what the Lord asks of us…to come to Him with a contrite and broken heart…to confess and to turn from darkness to His magnificent Light…to His Hope and to the calling that He has for each one of His children, each one of His daughters.
I sat…I felt humbled by this woman. When was the last time that tears of contrition had flowed from my heart, from my eyes onto the pages of my Bible? Where was my sorrow for the transgressions that I committed against my loving Father? Had I become so callous and so prideful of my life that my heart had hardened and preserved the wickedness that made its home there?
I sat…knowing that the Lord is saddened as He waits patiently to restore the joy of His beautiful salvation for each daughter, waiting for me to respond with tears of sorrow, cleansing tears, beautiful tears of agony over my departure from His grace…and the return to His promise of the restoration with tears of joy.
At 11:00 a.m. prayer ended. I know that each one of us was changed that day. I am so thankful for those moments with my friend. She enriched my life…she reminded me that gratitude and thanksgiving are necessary and that honesty before God is imperative. Although she and I battle different giants, we each wrestle with darkness because of the same sin nature. On that day, she and I sat side-by-side as sisters in Christ. I needed her that day to lead me and to show me and to remind me how to approach the Father with honesty and truthfulness. And she needed me that day to love her and to live life moments with her. Together, the prayer group experienced the Community of Christ. We were reminded of the forgiveness that is available to each one of us because of the Blood of Jesus, the Blood of the sacrificial Lamb…God’s perfect and Holy Son…
And I continue to pray…
“Lord, bless this precious sister-in-Christ today, wherever she is. Continue to hold her, sustain her, to draw her to your side. Remember the agony of her tears and the beauty of your Grace and Mercy. Thank you for the privilege of praying with her, of experiencing her authentic humility, and witnessing your Grace and Mercy, which is available to each of your daughters, through the agony of our tears and the beauty of your Grace….I remain, so Deeply Humbled…”
Today, as you journey on the road of life, embrace the pilgrims with whom you travel…
Abundant joy,
