Jesus uses the example of worrying to show us how strong our faith ought to be and how we need to live and consequently – pray. Let us turn to his words from Matthew 6:19-34:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:19-34, NIV)

The worrying which Jesus is talking about leads to division between us and God. In fact, the Greek word translated as the very “worry” means  “to part, to disunite, to divide, to distribute between.” Simply said, the more we worry about things different from God’s kingdom and our holy living, the farther we go from God. Instead of Him, we place money clothing, food and all the rest in first place.

So, it is necessary to keep an eye on how we’re doing in this aspect of life. It is important to check-up on our prayers as well. It is far too easy to drift away slowly in our prayers and one day end up being far from God’s way. Do you pray that it will be God’s will first or do the daily troubles and worries take His place? Is your faith strong enough to enable you to ask for His will, even when this means that you’ll face even more sufferings and struggles?

It’s a well known fact that we’re all standing before material needs and this continuously. However, it is our reaction to them that reflects our faith in God, not the needs themselves. Jesus’ promise to us is not for a flawless life and absolute safety and independence. If that was the case, it would actually draw us away from Him because there would be little need of a mighty God. But our Savior promised and gave us peace like no other. If we believe Him for our salvation, then we are also able to place Him at the top of our lives and prayers. Seek God’s kingdom first!

One of the biggest problems before the Christian faith today is that all Christians claim they believe in God, but not all of them live according to their own claims. In other words, many of us daily call ourselves Christians, but far too many of us don’t live like Christians.

Let’s look at the relationship between a child and his or her parents as an analogue of ours with God. When a child truly trusts his or her parents, he or she waits patiently and faith till their promises come true. When mummy and daddy promise their son a new bicycle he doesn’t immediately run out, seeking for ways to buy it himself earlier than it’s promised to him. Where there is trust in a relationship between two sides, there is also patience and faith.

Between many believers and God, however, the trust is little… so, naturally, many Christians quickly run out of patience and lose faith. God, on the other hand, doesn’t cease caring for us, but how is it possible to feel Him caring if all the time we’re trying to solve our problems on our own and pay more attention to them than we do to God?

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7, NIV).

Apostle Peter encourages us to humble ourselves before God. In other words – to confess that without Him there is nowhere we can get to; without Him there’s no feature for us; without Him our lives will be an endless fight against yet bigger problems. It’s about time for us to realized that we are the weak and God is the strong one. Doing this doesn’t mean that all of a sudden our lives will be flawless and problems will be nowhere to be seen. If we are humble before God, however, the problems will not dominate our lives but daily we will be above them, with our focus turned to what is of true matter – God.

When we start trusting God as much as we claim that we believe in Him, then we will begin to feel his care in a different, for some of us even unknown way. If we really have trust and faith in God, then as a problem comes before us we will first turn to God with a prayer for help. We will wait on His answer patiently and full of faith. And because God Himself has promised us – the answer will come, undoubtedly.

If, on the other hand, we chose to first go and try fix everything ourselves, with our own strength… or even worse – with money, then we better get ready for catastrophic consequences. Not only materially, but also spiritually. Although God will not cease caring for us and loving us, should we continue living our lives in such a way, we will one day wake up with more faith in ourselves than in God. And this is the day God will become unnecessary. We can easily lose our faith, the people around us, but worse of all – our future.

Our life with God requires daily care and a continual communication with Him. Two or three quickly put together prayers just won’t cut it. We ought to first establish our trust in Him. When this trust is real, then it won’t be hard for you to turn to God even for the smallest of things in life. It will be a joy to tell Him even of the biggest issues and troubles in your life. So, cast your cares on Him because He cares for you. Then you will have even more time to spend growing in your faith and relationship with God.

When it comes to prayer, perhaps the first thing we learn after “Amen” is “in the name of Jesus.” Yet, it seems that very often, just as with Amen, the praying on behalf of Jesus is not completely understood by the believer. What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? Why do I have to pray this way, and what conditions are there to it?

In the context of the passage from John, Jesus is talking to his disciples about Him being the only way to the Father and His unity with Him. This is key to understanding the prayer in Jesus’ name because it establishes the foundation – the divine authority and power which is found in Jesus, and upon which we rely as we pray to Him.
At this point Jesus also gives the condition for prayer in His name – one’s faith in Him. When believers witness miracles and supernatural experiences, it is not by their power or abilities that they occur. It is through their faith in Christ that these thing happen. Faith is, thus, the door opener for God’s power in our lives.

In Luke 8:48 Jesus told the woman with the bleeding: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” Should she have had no faith, she would not have even come close to Jesus, not talking about touching him. Jesus makes it very clear here, that it is not due to the touch itself that the miracle happened, but because of the faith with which the touch was made. As Peter tried to explain to Jesus – the whole crows was pressing on him… far too many people were touching him. Yet, healing power was released only to the woman who touched him with faith that she will be healed.
Just a few moments later, the news of a dead girl reach Jesus’ ears. Observe carefully His response: “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed” (Luke 8:50, NIV).
In Matthew 8:10, as a response to the recognition of his authority and power in faith by the Roman military officer, Jesus replies “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” and later on continues, “It will be done just as you believed it would.” How liberating it is to know that God’s power in our lives is not dependent on our social status, knowledge, or physical abilities!
If you take the time to go through the miracles of Jesus recorded in the Gospels you will notice that on almost all occasions supernatural things happened only after a response of faith was given by the people in need.

Back in John 14, a powerful, yet very often misused statement is found: “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” Very often we are tempted to take the first half of this sentence and demand action from God, because He said it. Yet, the key part of this statement is in the second half – Jesus will only act on our behalf if we have faith in Him, AND what we are asking for will result in glorifying God. Thus, once cannot expect that Jesus will be our miracle puppet and do all kind of things for us, none of which is within God’s will. Therefore, seek God’s will too, and in your prayers – stay within it.

Lastly, as you pray properly in the name of Jesus, know that an ever-present and all-powerful God is after your need. Jesus said that He Himself will do what you ask Him for! The beauty of this statement is not only in the intimacy it speaks about (that Jesus is personally concerned with your needs), but also in the assurance it provides. Just as Jesus never failed in healing or raising people from the dead in the New Testament, he will not fail in healing and providing for you, so that you may live a life worthy of His presence.
Thus, next time you pray, don’t just rush over the phrase “In Jesus’ Name”, but mediate on it and allow the Spirit to encourage and strengthen you through the meaning of it, and the simple fact that you are allowed to use it.

It is not only once that Jesus is giving us an example how and what for to pray. In the gospel according to Mark (as well as in Luke 4:42) Jesus’ prayer is an example for us when to pray. This is perhaps one of the most difficult examples to follow today. But before you continue on reading about it, turn your attention to what happens before Jesus goes to pray in the morning. Throughout the whole evening before that he is surrounded by people who are sick and demon-possessed – and they want healing. And after this, as well as all the other busy days that have passed, Jesus does not try to seek an excuse but gets up before the sun has come out completely and talks to the Father.

For most people today the morning has to do with awakening, followed by quite some stress around the trip to work or school… And yet, in between of all this there’s somehow time for a coffee, a smoke for some, and perhaps a quick and unhealthy snack. But there seems to almost never be enough time for God. Thus, day after day a large number of Christians are overcome by the daily routines, stress and demands without even noticing it. Some new believers manage to find a free slot for God in the mornings, but as they grow older in their faith often things change and prayer becomes just one of the things Christians do. So far for the intimate conversation with God that all of us can remember from their first days in the faith. As we have mentioned not only once in our devotionals, in no case should we think that the longer we’re Christians the less attention we ought to pay to prayer. It never becomes automatic.

So, do not seek excuses from last night, but set up a plan of how you will make more and more time for God in your mornings. We all are facing the temptation to excuse ourselves before God because see, last night there was something weary and tiring, and now we have to hurry for the next thing. Instead of excuses, we should be lifting up petitions for forgiveness to the Father and our Savior. We cannot call ourselves Christians and yet find silly excuses while we manage to spend hours watching movies, news or checking Internet sites. If it is difficult for you to find time to pray in the morning – set the cheap excuses apart and see what you can actually do to change this reality and pray after you wake up.

Begin your day with God and you will continue your day with God. This is just another reason to give your best to pray in the morning. When your day begins in a bad way it often happens that it continues so till the end… When you wake up angry or upset very few things can change you for the rest of the day. In the same way – if you wake up and start your day with God, it is more likely that you will continue your day with Godly thoughts and being close to Him… as opposed to being trapped in the worries and demands of the everyday life around. Notice that even Jesus – God’s very Son, the holy and immaculate one, finds that it is important to pay attention to His relationship with the Father and the Spirit with the break of the day. And if He who is one with the Father and the Spirit does so, then how much more do we have to? Nothing can excuse the lack of action on our side if we don’t follow Jesus’ example.

Psalm 119:147 reads: “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word” (NIV). Don’t be late to do this yourself!

This is the way in which Paul prayed for the brothers and sisters from the church in Ephesus. Today, for some it may be surprising that this prayer does not include, say, a petition for a larger home for the church, more income from offerings and tithe, or even those prayers by name for the ones from the church who are sick or have other urgent material needs. On the other hand, apostle Paul may be well surprised at the prayers we say when lifting up our brothers and sisters before the Lord. What is different about Paul’s prayer? How can we also pray in a similar way, and why is it even important to pray in this way? Read along for more information answering these questions.

If you listen carefully to your words when you pray for other Christians you will most likely notice that often (if not always) the physical and material needs occupy the first place in your prayer. Then comes the church building or the like, and only towards the end you happen to quickly mention the spiritual needs of your brothers and sisters. But that’s only if you get that far. Often the material and physical needs are so many that there is hardly any time left to pray for the spiritual condition of our family in the Lord Jesus. There is no doubt that the needs for healing and material provision are important, but what we should learn from Paul is that they are not more important than our relationship with God (or our brother or sister’s relationship with Him). This is why Paul begins his prayer namely with these needs – the spiritual ones… and in this particular case he only addresses them directly. This is how God remains in the center of the prayer.

But what exactly does Paul pray about? Firstly, he prays that according to God’s glorious riches and His Holy Spirit the believers might be strengthened. This is, that God will give them endless strength (for his riches are endless), so that they can continue to grow in their faith and at the same time sustain the pressure of the society against them, the persecutions they will face, as well as the attacks of Satan. For through God’s strength alone we can grow in faith and devote our lives to Him more and more.

Apostle Paul continues by praying that the Ephesians will remain rooted in the love of Christ and together will all other believers will grasp how immense this love is – the love with which Christ loved us. By this way alone today we could overcome the divisions and hatred among believers. But if we continue to pray only for financial or similar needs then we have given up on Christ’s love. Moreover, we are not anymore rooted in that love. In other words – we live our lives not driven by love… and we turn to God only to ensure that He provides us with a comfortable life.

At the end of his prayer the apostle finishes not with a word or two about the spiritual condition of the Ephesians, but with a praise to God, who notice – can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. The end of this prayer is at the same time a declaration of how much God can do when the Holy Spirit is at work in us. Without His Spirit we would also not be able to either know what to pray for, nor how to do it. As for the reach of God’s abilities – you yourself can surely testify of times when God has provided you with what you’ve needed already before you’ve prayed for it. Sometimes we just need to be more patient with our physical and material needs and through this show that we are fully dependent on God and also that we have surrendered our lives to Him entirely. But not on the larger building or the quick healing of the broken arm, so that we can go back to work as soon as possible.

This is the way we ought to pray not only for our brothers and sisters, but also for ourselves. Only then will we be able to keep God at the very center of our lives and become witnesses of His love and power before all other people.

The apostles have recently been instructed by Jesus “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4,5, NIV). And now they have just seen him ascend into the heavens from where He is to return in all glory.

Today, this promise of God in such circumstances would often lead to division rather than Pentecost. In most cases when the leader of a church leaves for one reason or another, the congregation immediately divides into different camps instead of praying with one accord. And yet, such a prayer is by far not the only lesson one ought to learn from this passage.

Before starting to pray, the apostles and the rest of the people with them carefully follow Jesus’ instructions – they simply wait. Lately, however, waiting has been losing its value as a virtue. Most of us own or wish to own a microwave oven, a fast computer, speedy Internet access, fast response to their e-mails… and a fast reaction by others in each and every situation. And all this just because we can’t wait. Sadly, the wasted money and nerves aren’t the only negative consequence of this. The worst is that by learning to require faster speed and shorter waiting time of everything and everyone, we also slowly begin to unlearn how to wait on God’s promise and His answers to our prayers. Sometimes God’s reply comes faster than expected and we’re jumping for joy and singing praises. Yet, other times God’s answers don’t come in accordance with our expectations… Thus, as opposed to microwave ovens and fast Internet prayer does require patience. Those of us who have the patience to wait also do receive God’s answer. Unfortunately, there are also those of us who can’t wait and instead try to fill up their emptiness with whatever little things they can do or provide on their own. Brothers and sisters, let us learn to pray with patience!

Jesus’ disciples did not only pray with patience but also prayed with one accord and constantly. Just as with patience, these two qualities also seem to be not so popular in today’s culture and society. This is the very reason we ought to pay even more attention to them. Today it is fashionable for a person to strive for achieving their individual desires and the less endurance it requires, the better. The proper functioning of Christ’s body – the body of believers cannot be a reality without endurance and harmony. The word endurance itself hasn’t lost all its value yet and this should be to our encouragement. As for harmony – the situation there is very different. In some countries as a result of the still bleeding wounds of communism, and in others – because of a long strive for individualism simply mentioning the word harmony in the context of people living together creates fears and worries. The harmony and oneness mentioned in Acts, however, shouldn’t create fears and worries after one has understood its meaning.

The Greek word ὁμοθυμαδόν (translated “together” in NIV) means “in one mind”, thus expressing what the apostles and the others praying with them had amongst each other. Among all these people there isn’t separation or divisions, there are no personal interests taking over the communal desire for God’s promise… There is no hatred, nor is there mutual or one-sided neglect. All these men and women, perhaps at different ages and certainly of different backgrounds – they all have put their differences behind so that they may turn to God together. And namely such should our prayers be… as well as our lives, if we have the boldness to call ourselves Christians.

May our prayer be: “Lord, help us to wait on your answers. Give us strength to overcome our differences, so that we may bow before your as brothers and sisters in harmony, according to your grace.”

Paul’s letter to the church in Rome from the first century is often limited to a well written lesson on systematic theology. This, however, is the very reason due to which most of the letter’s today’s readers miss seeing the practical guides which make up the message. After all, Romans is a letter by a caring spiritual father to his children in the faith. Thus, after clarifying for his brothers and sisters in Christ the basics of the Christian faith Paul does not forget to also remind them how to show this faith through practice in their lives. The whole chapter 12, as well as much of the following ones, is a description of how the life of a believer ought to be like. So, before you continue reading this devotional, please, do read the whole chapter 12 of Romans (you may also read till the end of the letter).

It does not come by surprise that in the middle of this description one finds the phrase “faithful in prayer.” Multiple times already we have turned our attention to how seriously Paul takes prayer. In most Bibles there is two references attached to this phrase. These two other passages confirm the apostle’s teaching.

The first text is in Luke 18:1-8 where Jesus is teaching his disciples about faithful or continual prayer by the means of a parable. The parable is about a widow who does not cease seeking justice from an unrighteous judge in the city. Although, as the Bible tells us, the judge did not fear God, nor did he care much about people, he does respond to the widow’s request because she did not stop bothering him. Now, God, on the other hand, does not respond to your sontinuous or faithful prayers just because you won’t stop bothering Him, but because by your faithful prayers you confirm your faith and trust in God.

The second passage is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, which states simply “pray continually.” This verse is also a part of a larger piece of text which deals with the type of Christian life which is pleasing to God. What is noteworthy in this case is Paul’s reminder about continuous prayer towards a church which has testified of its faith in a powerful way (see 1 Thessalonians 1:7-10). This is because he knows how important the continuous prayer is, and he cannot skip over it. So do we try to remind you of this by this devotional.

If you have read the previous devotionals published on the site you will clearly know that our prayers are much more than a mere declaration of our wishes and desires before God. In fact, our own wishes and desires are far from being the foundation of the prayer God wants to hear from us. The God-pleasing prayer is our way of communication between you and Him. And just as any other communication between two persons, prayer is critical to the relationship these two persons have with each other. Our prayers (or the lack thereof) testify as to whether we have a relationship with God or not. Let us look at an example from the daily life of many young people today.

Every college or university student living and studying in a town different from where their parents live has received (at least once, but mostly more than once) a package from home. Whether this package was requested or not, it makes for a wonderful example of God’s blessings in the life of the believer. Usually, the recipient of the package will call back to their parents to say “Thank you!” – just as we thank God in our prayers. This, however, does not mean that our example student calls his family only when a package comes in! On the contrary – each and every responsible daughter or son calls their parents regularly – to share how their life is going (as a symbol of thanksgiving, but mostly out of love for the parents); to share a need; to ask how their parents are doing; to continue the relationship with the people they love. God’s Word calls us to turn to God regularly in a similar way. Not only when we have a need. Not only when we are joyful. Not only when we are hurt. Not only when we have free time to do so. Not only… Now you can finish this sentence with whatever your excuses for not praying sometimes (or often) are.

Pray honestly and continually and you will witness a growth of your faith which will reach far beyond your bravest expectations. Always put aside time for talking to God (which also means that sometimes all that you will have to do it listen!) and you will feel God’s presence with you in each and every moment, at any place. Be faithful in prayer!

Apostle Paul has undoubtedly learned the same lesson… and just as we are learning it – not painlessly. It is known that he suffered a lot due to some kind of a health problem. A problem for which we can read more in 2 Corinthians 12. Let us turn our attention to verses 8 and 9: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (NIV).

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord…” Whether Paul is referring to three particular moments of prayer or this is just a symbolic way of speaking about constant prayer one thing is clear – for Paul this problem was no less important than your problem is for you in this very moment. Apostle Paul does not stop praying, but he also does not close his eyes and heart towards God’s answer, which as it turns out is different from what he is praying for. And God does not take forever to reply (as we often think He does) – apostle Paul received great comfort and joy from God. Today, this answer quoted in verse 9 is many people’s favorite. Unfortunately, in practice very few of us accept it as satisfactory.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God’s answer is so clear that it is difficult to excuse ourselves with not understanding it well. Still, let us dig deeper into its meaning. Paul’s pain is enormous, not only because of the physical problem, but also because this is a hindrance for the spreading of the Gospel. It is understandable why this is so devastating for him, he is crippled. What is your pain today? Perhaps it is broken relationships which nail you down and paralyze you? Or maybe you’re also affected by a physical problem which sucks out any energy you may have left? Or are you just praying for something not as serious today…? At this very moment God’s answer to Paul is just as valid for you. Do not let your own expectations close your eyes and your heart towards God’s intervention… which will most likely in a different way from what you expect. Most of the time we pray for safety and strength, but in each and every moment we ought to be fully dependent on God and truly believe in His protection. And almost always this means that we must be weak. Otherwise it is way too easy to hope on our own strength and go against God’s will.

God not only answers to our requests beyond our expectations, but His answer is also more than enough. Perhaps it is about time to put your expectations aside and make room for God’s answer? Perhaps it is about time to let God use the difficult circumstances you are in to draw you closer to Himself? God will not leave you alone. Neither will He forget you. God will surely pour His grace upon you and your words will be: “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Very few things can wake me up in excitement at 2am as Psalm 51 with king David’s brokenness and God’s tender yet mighty response. I hope this will speak to you as it did to me. Blessings! -Petar

The world would be completely different if no one was honest. So would your repentance and prayers. In fact, one’s repentance and prayers are so different when they are not honest, that it is as if they weren’t there at all. There is no faked repentance, neither is there faked prayer. They are either real or no such at all. However, let us pay some attention to the sincere repentance and prayer. Psalm 51 is one of the most powerful and descriptive texts from the Bible on this topic.

The whole story behind this psalm you can read in the book of 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12. To summarize it, the story goes like this: king David is walking on the roof of his house and sees a beautiful woman showering – Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. He sends people to bring her and he sleeps with her. After this he sends her back home. Soon enough, however, she lets David know that she is pregnant. As a response to this David sends her husband, Uriah to the first line of the military fights that are going on at the time, and gives instructions for him to be left alone so that he can be killed. Once Uriah is dead David takes Bathsheba for his wife and she gives birth to a son. “But the thing David had done displeased the Lord” (2Sam. 11:27, NIV). Then God sends the prophet Nathan, who reveals to David his sin. Seeing it David repents. Psalm 51 is David’s repentance and prayer to God.

Perhaps the first thing which is striking in this psalm is David’s acknowledgment of his own sins and his prayer for God’s cleansing. Sadly, it is not the majority of people today that have the courage to confess their sins in such a way. Our culture and society continually introduce new norms of tolerance which render the need of forgiveness and repentance non-existent. Before God, however, these norms have no validity. In our relationship with God, the only way of dealing with sin and wrong choices is our sincere prayer of repentance. Knowing this, how much more powerful are David’s words: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1, NIV). God’s love and compassion never fail and never end!

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:10-11, NIV). So continues David his prayer. These words say not only how deeply he desires God’s presence, but also are a testimony of David’s faith in God’s ability to do it all. Moreover, David knows that God will not leave him. The confirmation of this you can find in verse 17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (NIV). David is praying with faith namely because his spirit and heart are both broken. God’s word, as well as the life of each believer is the testimony that God will surely not despise our sincere and honest prayer and repentance. So, do pray sincerely! Repent at this very moment if the Holy Spirit is leading you to a prayer of repentance for whatever sin there has been in your life!

David’s prayer is not over yet. Verses 13-15 without a doubt place an important question before me, you, and any other believer: “Why do I pray?” David’s prayer does not finish with his petition for forgiveness. Let our prayers continue on as well – according to the Spirit’s leading and king David’s example. Let us continue praying and in our prayers surrender our lives in God’s hands for him to make use of. And still, it is not time for Amen! David finishes his prayer with a request for blessing upon the people whose trust he betrayed through his sin – verse 18.

Do not forget this vivid example of prayer. May psalm 51 continually remind you of the fact that our prayers don’t work like a snack machine where we stick our coin and get what we’ve requested in a matter of seconds. May our prayers be honest, thirsty for the fulfillment of God’s will, and not in last place – not for our own convenience but for God’s glory. As you pray for forgiveness, do not forget to pray for the people that may have felt the consequences of your sin, for there is no sin which affects the sinner alone.

“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”