A prayer of repentance

Repentance. What is it? It’s a word we often use as Christians. But what does it really mean?

I think this psalm written by David after Nathan confronted him concerning the incident with Uriah and Bathsheba gives us a clear picture of what repentance is all about.

1. It’s recognizing your sin.

David wrote,

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. (Psalm 51:3)

For a long time, David tried to hide his sin. He tried to justify in his heart what he had done. But now there was no hiding. No trying to justify his actions. Just saying straight out, “I have sinned.”

2. It’s recognizing we’ve sinned against God.

Certainly, David sinned against Uriah. But more than that, he sinned against God.

There are times in our lives where we justify our sins by saying, “Well, it really didn’t hurt anyone. The only one it affected was myself.”

But the truth is whether it affected anyone else or not, it is God that we hurt most when we sin. David realized this, and so he wrote,

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. (Psalm 51:4)

3. Repentance acknowledges that God’s ways and his judgments are right.

There’s no arguing about why there should be an exception made in your case. There’s no complaining that God is being too harsh or too strict. Instead, repentance says, “You’re right. I’m wrong.”

David wrote,

You are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. (Psalm 51:4)

4. Repentance means throwing yourself on God’s mercy.

It’s realizing that you’re totally guilty, that you’re deserving death, and that your only hope for salvation is based on God’s mercy alone. And so David prayed,

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions…

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me… Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me. (1, 11, 14)

5. Repentance is asking for forgiveness.

David begged,

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow…

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (2, 7, 9–10)

6. Repentance recognizes that God seeks inward change, not just words or sacrifices.

So often, people pray words of repentance, but don’t really mean them. They’re “confessing” their sin but have no intention to change.

To them, God’s grace is just a mat on which to wipe their dirty feet, all the while planning their next sin.

Or they make some kind of sacrifice. Maybe it’s offering given to the church. Or maybe it’s doing some kind of charity work. Or some good deed. And they do this in hopes that their good deeds balance out their bad.

But David wrote,

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:16–17)

A broken spirit doesn’t take sin lightly. A contrite heart doesn’t think about its next opportunity to sin. Instead, they pray as David did,

Make me willing to obey you. (verse 12, NLT)

How about you? Are your prayers of repentance just words? Or do you truly recognize your sin?

Do you realize just how much your sin hurts God? Do you truly throw yourself on God’s mercy, realizing just how desperate your situation is? And do you so hate sin that you ask God for his help in fighting against it?

That’s repentance.

Where is your heart today?