Circumcision of the Heart
Father, more than anything, I ask You to create in me a clean heart. That was David’s prayer in Psalm 51 and it is my prayer in 2001. David knew his heart was selfish and in need of circumcision; so is mine. He knew it was far from pure and even farther from what You desired of him as king; You desire no less from me as a child of the King.Above all, he wanted to return to sweet fellowship with You; so do I. He wanted to be able to sing Your praises, drink in Your mercy and bask in Your grace; so do I Father; oh, so do I!
He wanted to return to the place where You were his first love and where closeness with You mattered more than all the gold and silver that were his. In the pit of despair, he called out to You, acknowledged his sin and grieved over it, knowing that he could never feel the heights of repentance until he had recharged the depth of admission. He accepted Your forgiveness and lived with the consequences. But You took sin that was directed against You and turned it into a blessing for all mankind. And where would we be without the wisdom of Solomon?
David had multiple faults and falls; yet in all of Scripture, he is the only one You refer to as "a man after my own heart." I want to be a woman after Your own heart, Father. I want to accept what You give with grace and gratitude. I want to be unselfish, desiring what You want rather than what I think I need -- to be more concerned with what others need instead of what I want.
And so I pray with David "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
I am waiting with open heart.
© 12/2001 Rosi Braatz