Psalm 51:10-12; Daily Lenten Devotional, Luther Seminary
Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
We heard the words of this psalm just a few weeks ago on Ash Wednesday when we began our
Lenten journey. Out of fear we tend to gloss over our mortality, the importance of our lives, our work, our loves crowding out the “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” truth that is our temporal reality. Then by extension, we also gloss over our shortcomings, the damage we have done to others and our world, often without intention. Our limited time means limited vision. We have polluted, discriminated, hoarded, degraded and abandoned because our own survival demanded it—or so we tell ourselves. Lent invites us to stop and see with God’s eyes. The psalmist’s words could be spoken from our hearts, gloss banished, reality fully lit. We are invited to stand, revealed in God’s presence and along with the psalmist, believe that God is there to hear our confession, merciful and forgiving.
Create in us a clean heart, O God. Restore to us the joy of your salvation. Amen.
Spirit is leading the way,
Rev. Jenny Shultz-Thomas