A YEAR OF PRAYER
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight— that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. —Psalm 51:1 - 9
A PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. —Psalm 51:10
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. —Psalms 51:11 - 12
SPIRIT DEFINED: The Greek word for the spirit, pneuma, translates roughly to breath; it is the living essence that connects the body, heart, and mind, and will return to God when a Christian dies.
The Holy Spirit is the energy of God producing the Holiness of God in man’s Spirit and heart.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me. —Psalm 51:10 (AMPC)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17
1. A renewed spirit starts with a posture of humility.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— these, O God, You will not despise. —Psalm 51:17
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 5:3
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” —James 4:6
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. —James 4:10
…“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” —1 Peter 5:5b
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” —Luke 14:11
The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. —Psalm 25:9
2. The prayer for a renewed spirit has faith that God can restore what once was and now has been lost.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. —Psalm 51:10
A renewed anointing
2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”
4 So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” —1 Samuel 16:2 - 711 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. —1 Samuel 16:11 - 14
A renewed passion for God’s purpose.
It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained
at Jerusalem. —2 Samuel 11:1
Men are holy when they are set apart for God’s service, whether they be officially consecrated for certain offices, or have yielded themselves by an inward devotion based on love to be His.
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” —1 Samuel 17:28 - 29
A renewed faith and trust in the power of God.
Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” —1 Samuel 17:37
46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” —1 Samuel 17:46 - 471 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. —Psalms 18:1 - 36 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils, and devouring fire from His mouth; coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet.
10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. —Psalms 18:6 - 1012 From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals
of fire.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice, hailstones and coals of fire. —Psalms 18:12 - 1316 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.
19 He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted
in me. —Psalms 18:16 - 1929 For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
31 For who is God, except the Lord? and who is a rock, except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places.
34 He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.
36 You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip. —Psalms 18:29 - 36
A renewed fear and reverence for God.
1 Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.”
2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek
David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)
4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
5 Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.
6 And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.”
7 So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way. —1 Samuel 24:1 - 7
A reference to God must underlie all that is good in men, and on the other hand, that consecration to God is a delusion or a deception which does not issue in separation from evil.
3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.
5 So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him.
6 Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”
7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him.
8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”
9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” —1 Samuel 26:3 - 912 Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth.
14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.
15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net. —Psalm 25:12 - 1511 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. —Psalms 34:11 - 18The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. —Psalm 111:10
My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; —Proverbs 1:8
A renewed holiness to be set apart.
1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.
3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. —2 Samuel 11:1 - 41 I will sing of mercy and justice; to You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.
5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure.
6 My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, He shall serve me.
7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.
8 Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord. —Psalms 101:1 - 8
Man’s duties can never be summed up in any expression which omits man’s relation to God. How do I stand to Him? Do I belong to Him by joyous yielding of myself to be His instrument? That, my friends! is the question, the answer to which determines everything about me. Rightly answered, there will come all fruits of grace and beauty in the character as a natural consequence; ‘whatsoever things are lovely and of good report,’ every virtue and every praise grow from the root of consecration to God.