21. Psalm 38 ~ when I see my sin as God sees it
O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath: neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure. For Your arrows stick fast in me, and Your hand presses me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. I am feeble and sore broken; I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
Lord, all my desire is before You, and my groaning is not hid from You. My heart pants, my strength fails me: as for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. They also who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man who opens not his mouth.
For in You, O LORD, do I hope: You will hear, O Lord my God. For I said, “Hear me.” For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare my iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.
This passage is part of a series of prayers taken directly from Scripture. Please join me in experiencing a new depth in our relationship with a personal God by praying the words from His Holy Bible. Read them aloud whenever possible, in a spirit of prayer to the Father, in the name of Jesus, trusting that He will receive them from your heart and answer the same way He answered the original writers.
But do not pray these prayers until you have first prayed to God in repentance of sin for salvation. If He is not your Father, that is where you must begin. You see, we are God’s enemies from birth, prone to follow our own will and reject His. But God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to become sin for us, that we could become righteous before Him. We accept the righteousness of Christ by faith. This is the only way to please a holy God. This is where the relationship begins. If you have not accepted the gift of salvation, then the first prayer you need to pray is the one asking God to forgive you of your sins. I will not provide you with that prayer, because that is between you and God alone. No man can put those words in your mouth. But I will share the message briefly with you here, and if you need more, I will gladly talk with you further if you will contact me. God’s plan of salvation is demonstrated in both the Old and New Testaments because it is the message of the entire Bible to the entire world.
Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
If you have called on the name of the Lord to save you, I would like to know so we can rejoice together. The angels in heaven are already rejoicing.
Photo taken in Milton, FL, 2018
The Abundant Heart 