Becoming Like Jesus: Confession and RepentanceSample

A Broken Hearted King

David was the greatest king of Israel. He slew giants, conquered enemies, and brought the worship of God back into the heart of the kingdom. He is even described as a man after God’s own heart. And, he was also a murderer and an adulterer. While the specifics of David’s life are probably radically different from ours, like us, he is someone who was a complicated mess of good and bad. Today, we are going to look at a prayer he wrote shortly after his greatest failure.

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Pray…

Lord God, have mercy on me. You are loving, merciful, and compassionate. I confess that I have disobeyed you and hurt others. I want to change. Forgive me. Help me to live for you and love others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. Psalm 51:1-4 NLT

Consider….

David wrote this Psalm after being confronted by the prophet Nathan because of the evils he had committed. One evening, while David was walking on the roof of his palace, he looked over and saw a woman, Bathsheba, bathing. So, David sent someone to get her for him. David slept with her and got her pregnant. In order to cover up what he had done, David set a plan in motion to kill Bathsheba’s husband and make it look like an accident. After her husband died and the time of grieving had passed, David brought Bathsheba to his home to make her his wife. He thought he had gotten away with it all.

But God knew. And God was not going to let this injustice go unaddressed. God sent Nathan, the prophet, to confront David. When he realized what he had done, David admitted his sins and begged God for mercy. And while there certainly were consequences for his wrongdoing, God still gave David mercy. Because that’s who God is. He is merciful and compassionate. He is filled with unfailing love. When we confess our sins to Him, He responds with mercy.

The Scripture we read above comes from Psalm 51, a song of confession. In this song, David is pouring out his soul before God and begging for mercy. David, even though he was a king, knew that he was still subject to God’s law. And he was guilty of breaking it.

So why is David known as a man after God’s own heart? It’s not because he’s perfect. He’s so far from that. It’s because David kept coming back to God, no matter how many times he messed up. Over and over again, he admitted his sins, begged for mercy, and changed his ways.

Practice…

Read through all of Psalm 51 and make the words of David your prayer.

Is it hard for you to acknowledge when you’ve sinned? Do you only become aware of it after someone confronts you? Or are you able to notice it sooner than that? Why do you think that is?

Listen…

Find a quiet place where you can continue to spend time with God. Maybe you have a favorite chair, a certain spot in your backyard, or a particularly cozy closet. Wherever you need to go to limit distractions, do it.

Set a timer for five minutes. Ask God to speak to you. When you get distracted, come back to God by praying this Scripture:

The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. Psalm 145:8 NLT

When the timer ends, thank God for the time you spent together and go into your day looking for opportunities to love Him and love others.