A BELIEVER'S PRAYER FOR MERCY AND FORGIVENESS

Proclamation:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; so You are right in Your verdict and justified when You judge.”  Psalm 51:1-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the prophet Nathan came to him after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, who was Uriah’s wife. (2 Samuel 11:1-12:24)  David admitted and confessed his sins to The Lord and asked to be forgiven.  He knew that his sin was a sin against God.  He asked The Lord God to have mercy upon him and cleanse him from his sins.

Application:

This psalm is a prayer which all believers should pray.  When we sin we may do wrong against our fellow man but ultimately our sin is against God by neglect, disobedience, or contempt for His commandments.  Even when we think that we have sinned in private, it is still done in the presence of God, who is always with us and sees all that we do. (2 Samuel 3:25)  We need to humbly pray to The Lord God and honestly confess our sins, and sincerely ask Him to be forgiven. (2 Chronicles 7:14 and 1 John 1:9) 

A PRAYER OF CLEANSING

Proclamation:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; … Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:1-4 and 10 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm is a prayer of King David, written under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God.  After he had slept with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, David ordered him to be put in a position to be killed so that he could have her for himself. (2 Samuel 11:1-27)  David knew that he had sinned and he asked God to cleanse him of his sins. (Psalm 51:2)  He also asked God to purge him, clean him, wash him, (Psalm 51:7) and to blot out all of his iniquities. (Psalm 51:9)  David wanted God to give him a clean heart and a right spirit. (Psalm 51:10)  He also wanted God to restore the joy of his salvation. (Psalm 51:12)  Then he asked God to control his words so that he could give God praise. (Psalm 51:15)

Application:

Most of the sins that we commit are conscious decisions on our part and we know that what we are doing is wrong.  Most believers feel bad or guilty after committing a sin as if doing so robs us of the joy of our salvation.  We need to pray and ask The Lord God to have mercy on us and to forgive us.  We need for Him to cleanse us, to wipe away our sins and transgressions, and to create within us a clean heart and mind.  We also need His help to stay on the straight and narrow path that is His way.  We need to pray that He would order our steps, guide our tongues, and direct out thoughts so that our lives will be a good Christian example for others to see and so that we can all praise His name.

A PRAYER OF CLEANSING

Proclamation:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalms 51:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of King David and the prayer that he prayed after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and had her husband Uriah killed, and after the prophet Nathan had confronted him and told him of his sin. (2 Samuel 12:1-13)

Application:

David was a man after God’s own heart, not because he didn’t sin, but because he confessed his sins and asked to be forgiven and then walked uprightly in the ways of The Lord.  Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of cleansing.  It is a prayer that we should model our prayer after.  We should pray and ask God to have mercy on us.  We should ask Him to cleanse us of our sins.  We should acknowledge that we know that we have sinned and that all sin is a sin against God. (Psalms 51:3-4)  We should also ask God to create within us a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within us. (Psalms 51:10)  We should ask God to restore unto us the joy of our salvation. (Psalms 51:12)  Then we should ask Him to open our lips and guide our tongue so that we may praise His holy name. (Psalms 51:15)  Since we are all sinners, (Romans 3:23) a similar prayer, if not this exact one, would be appropriate for each one of us.