October 20, 1999
LIFE & WORK SERIES:
The prayer of repentance
leads to great joy
___Psalm 51:1-12
___By Brett Younger
___Lake Shore Baptist Church, Waco
___The smells of spaghetti, French bread and corn on the cob filled the kitchen. It was Carol's turn to say grace: "God, help us know when we have eaten enough and stop." Everyone at the table was stunned. How cruel does a person have to be to pray that? There are some things we just don't pray about.
___We tend to avoid praying about anything that requires a difficult change on our part. Do we want to pray for homeless people if we have an empty guest room, or for hungry people when we have money in the bank? Does the successful business person ask God ifa lower-paying job would make more of a contribution to the world? Is it safe to pray about what we should eliminate from our busy schedules? Do we want to pray for people we don't like? After we have disappointed God, isn't it easier not to pray?
___King David went a long time without praying. One afternoon a look turned into lust, and David didn't pray about it. The lust turned into manipulation and David acted in ways he never would have considered if he had prayed. David did not admit what he had done or what he needed to do for a long time. He didn't pray, because he didn't want to face up to the harsh realities (2 Samuel 11). The harshest reality is that refusing to pray pushes us away from God.
___Psalm 51 is the cry of a person who had to struggle to pray. David finally owned up to what he had done: "Have mercy on me, O God." Repentance begins with the recognition that God's central attribute is "unfailing love" and "great compassion" (v. 1).
___God's mercy makes the seriousness of our "transgressions," "iniquity" and "sin" clear (vs. 1-2). David acted completely contrary to God's hopes for him, but God does not give up on David. God continues to "desire truth" and "teach wisdom" (v. 6).
___ When David asks God to "Hide your face from my sins" (v. 9), he is asking for God to do what David cannot. David can't stop thinking about what he has done: "My sin is always before me" (v. 3).
___The amazing truth of this psalm is that for all of its agony, there's also a sense of relief. What David has ignored for so long is finally out in the open. While being honest to God is painful, the prayer of repentance also leads to great joy.
___What would happen if we repented of the ways that we're not what we should be? What if we prayed for hungry people and for our enemies? What if we made a searching inventory of the ways we fall short?
___No one can be sure what would happen, but if our experience is like David's, then repentance will be hard but will lead us to a "pure heart," a "steadfast spirit" and "the joy of God's salvation" (v. 10-12).
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