Praise the Lord!

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Scripture: Psalm 51:15 (ESV)

15          O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise

Devotion:

Psalm 51 is a prayer of repentance from King David, who had committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the murder of her husband, Uriah. David was confronted by the prophet Nathan and convicted of his sin. He cried out to God for mercy and forgiveness, and asked God to restore his joy and fellowship. This passage is a powerful example of the transformative power of God's forgiveness and the restoration it brings to our lives.

Verse 15 is part of David's plea for restoration. He asks God to open his lips, so that he can declare God's praise. This implies that David's sin had silenced his praise. He had lost his ability and desire to worship God, because he knew he had offended God and broken his covenant. He felt ashamed and unworthy to speak of God's goodness and glory.

But David also knew that only God could heal his brokenness and renew his spirit. He did not rely on his own efforts or words to please God, but he depended on God's grace and compassion. He realized that God alone could open his lips and enable him to praise God again. He understood that God's forgiveness was the only basis for his worship.

David's prayer teaches us that sin affects our relationship with God and hinders our worship. When we sin, we dishonor God and forfeit our peace and joy. We lose our confidence and boldness to approach God and praise him. This should convict us and motivate us to repent and seek God's forgiveness. We must confess our sins and ask God to cleanse and restore us.

But David's prayer also teaches us that God is gracious and willing to forgive us and restore us. His forgiveness is not just a pardon, but a transformation. He can open our lips and give us a new song of praise. He can revive our hearts and fill us with his love and joy. He can make us instruments of his glory and grace. This transformative power of God's forgiveness should fill us with hope and inspire us to seek his restoration.

Let us pray like David and ask God to open our lips, so that we can declare his praise. Let us seek his forgiveness and restoration, and experience his mercy and joy. Let us not just worship him out of duty, but with a heart filled with joy and gratitude for his forgiveness and restoration. Let us worship him in spirit and truth, and honor him with our lives.

Prayer:

            Lord, we praise you because you take the ashes of our sinful and broken lives and clothe us with beauty. You alone can restore us and make us clean again so that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. Lord, we repent of our sins and return to you because life is found only in you. Yes, Lord, open our lips, and our mouths will declare your praise. Amen.

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