Listen:
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. (Psalm 51:10-12)
Reflect:
Today as I was meditating on David’s words, I could not help but focus my attention on that very first word: CREATE. There are two different Hebrew words used in scripture to describe God creating- asah (עָשָׂה) which is to create or form from existing materials, and bara (בָּרָא) which is a divine act of creating something completely new and from nothing.
I have read this Psalm many times in my years as a believer and I have earnestly desired for God to create in me a clean and pure heart and a willing and right spirit. Without realizing it, when I pray this passage, I pray it with the meaning of Asah. Asah in me a clean heart and right spirit. Take what is and make it better.
But I wonder if in my request there has been a holding onto of the past that prevents total healing. Is what I have been asking for a partial transformation that allows me to revert back to natural hard wiring or inclinations?
After some research into Psalm 51:10, I found that David uses the Hebrew word bara (בָּרָא) when asking for a clean heart. His plea is not for repair. His use of bara is a request to be a brand-new creation. He’s asking for a total rebirth of his heart and spirit possible only by God’s creative and transformative action. As we meditate on this passage today, let’s pray it with the meaning of bara and allow ourselves to be made completely new in Christ.
Prayer of Response:
Take my broken, flawed and fractured heart, Lord- a heart bent toward pride, selfishness and sin- and make me completely new. I don’t want a partial repair; I want complete and total healing and to be made new in Christ. Amen
Questions to Ponder:
- Do you believe in the power of God our Father, Jesus our savior and the Holy Spirit our active advocate, to bring forth a heart and spirit that are clean, right and willing to carry out His perfect will?
- Does anything hold you back from asking to be made completely new? How could this reality transform your life?
Breath Prayers:
Join us in praying breath prayers each day. We invite you to write your own as well.
Inhale (Breathe in): Bara in me
Exhale (Breathe out): a clean heart
Inhale (Breathe in): Sustain in me
Exhale (Breathe out): a willing spirit
—Submitted by: Erinne Baker
Erinne and her husband Travis live in Klamath Falls, Oregon where they are raising their four kids: Charlotte (13), Benjamin (10), William (9) and Wyatt (5). She loves Jesus and is committed to following him all the days of her life.