Lord Give Me a Pure Heart
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
This verse is from Psalm 51, David’s psalm of repentance for his sexual encounter with Bathsheba. Bathsheba became pregnant and David had her husband Uriah deliberately killed in battle in an effort to hide his sin; then he married Bathsheba. The problem is he could never hide his sin from God. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I appointed you king of Israel and saved you from Saul. I gave you his kingdom and his wives. And I made you king of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you even more. So why did you ignore the Lord’s command? Why did you do what he says is wrong? (2 Samuel 12:7-9) Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites (2 Samuel 12:9).
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her (2 Samuel 11:2-3). David saw Bathsheba in the distance bathing and he entertained the thought until his desire conceived and gave birth in his mind, and being king he had her brought to him.
Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1:14-15). David’s sinful desire was enticed by the vision of Bathsheba bathing, and that is why David is asking the Lord for a pure heart and a steadfast Spirit. David said to the Lord, Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5). David recognizes the existence of this sinful nature in his heart, which he believes was with him when he was conceived. David had seven beautiful wives yet coveted the wife of one of his elite soldiers.
This incident in David’s life illustrates the need to capture every thought to the obedience of Christ, because in conjunction with prayer, God will create in us a pure heart. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). This verse is critical because if the thought isn’t captured immediately, it will conceive in the mind and give birth to sin. If David had fought the sinful desire of the flesh, he wouldn’t have sinned, and all the resulting heartache would have been avoided. David could have immediately left the roof and gone in prayer for God’s strength. He had many beautiful wives but chose the wife of one of his soldiers.
A Christian must capture every sinful thought and plan an escape. It is vital to have this plan in place before temptation strikes. Victory over sin leads to a pure heart, because the Lord will take away the sinful desire. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). This verse tells us how to handle temptation: to capture the thought and execute a pre-planned escape.
Today capture every thought and plan how you can change the thought. It pleases the Lord when we fight Satan and defeat him through Christ’s power. Learn to live victoriously in the infinite power of the Lord. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).
Let’s Pray: Lord, create in me a pure heart by guiding me to victory over temptation. I know there is always an escape from Satan’s temptations, and help me find the perfect escape. In Jesus name, Amen