Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
This Psalm is one of my favorites. Perhaps because I grew up in a church where we recited some of it every Sunday – “Open my lips O Lord and My mouth will show forth thy praise. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me”.
I have found that throughout my life my soul keeps returning to these verses. There are mornings when I fervently pray to renew a right spirit within me. I can already feel the negatives crowding into my brain before my first sip of morning coffee. Other times I know I should open my lips and say what God is prompting me to, but my timidity and pride get in the way. There are times I just don’t feel Him nearby and need to be assured He is there besides me. Sometimes, I can sense danger and call on His Holy Spirit to protect me.
How comforting to know that David, so many centuries ago, felt the same way that I can so easily feel today. How wonderful that our eternal God knows the human heart so well that He would immortalize these simple words in Scripture to reign as truth throughout hundreds of generations – past, present and those to come. Are there passages in the Bible that speak deeply to you? I hope so. I hope you find them, carry them in your heart and recall them whenever you need a boost of faith or a smidgen of hope.
