Create in me a clean heart is the prayer of King David in Psalms 51:10. He had sinned against God and was asking him to clean his heart.
Defining the elements of this phrase, we may understand better what David meant.
Create can be defined as bringing something new from scratch and modifying an old object to a new one.
Clean means unmixed with any other matter, free from dirt or dust, while heart means the inner part of us where we harbor our thoughts and emotions.
Therefore, the prayer request “create in a clean heart” means asking God to purify you from the darkness harbored in your heart.
The heart is our inner peace. It is where we keep our emotions and grow our thoughts. It is what is in your heart that defines you. People who have good hearts show forth goodness to people, while those who have evil hearts show forth their wickedness.
Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. In a case where we can’t control our emotions, we can only ask God to create in us a clean heart.
The story behind “create in me a clean heart”
King David, as popularly known, is a man after God’s heart. He became anointed by God and was risen above his contenders.
He had won so many battles in his time through God, who gave him victories. According to 2 Samuel 11, David had laid on his bed Bethsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his warriors.
Bethsheba got pregnant for David. All effort to make Uriah go to his wife was futile. David committed another atrocity by killing the man indirectly.
This act of David brought anger upon the Lord, and he cursed and his household. On the siege to ask God for forgiveness, David wrote Psalms 51.
David knew he had sinned against God, and he was unclean in the sight of God. He asked God to have mercy on him according to his steadfast love and his great compassion.
In addition, he requested his iniquities should be washed away and his sins from him. Admitting that he was a sinner and impure, he asked God to clean him with hyssop so his heart would be as white as snow.
Knowing that sin is an abomination unto God, David asked God not to cast away his (God) presence from him and not take his holy spirit from him. Instead, he should create in him a clean heart and restore the joy of his salvation.
The significance of “create in me a clean heart.”
Knowing that this is a part of the prayer request of David to God, it applies to our daily lives. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
We are impure before God. You may not have committed the atrocities of David by committing adultery and murder, but you have sinned.
People harbor in their hearts jealousy, hatred, envies, the wickedness that they can’t help but make their personality. When their heart is clean, it changes their attitude towards God and man.
A pure heart creates a good relationship with God. For blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Anyone who bears evil in his heart is very far from God’s touch.
David understood that if he had continued to follow the trail of his sin, God would turn his back on him. On realizing his mistake, he asked God to create him a clean heart.
To create a clean heart doesn’t literally mean to build a new heart. In Psalms 51:7, David asked God to clean and wash him with hyssop so he (David) would be as white as snow.
God should rid him of his iniquities, the darkness in his heart, the deceitfulness that had encompassed his mind. That is what creating a clean heart means.
Why you should ask God to create a clean heart in you?
A clean heart is a heart with no stain or dirt in it. No grudges, no evil plans against your fellow human being. No hatred nor jealousy.
There are many benefits of having a pure and clean heart. They are;
Less burden to the heart
David realized how much it would cost him if he had not accepted that he had sinned and repented of it. For one to cover up for his sins, he has to sin.
This truckload of sin would eventually lead to a steamed heart full of wickedness and anger. But once you lay it all down at the foot of the cross and ask God to take the wheel of your life, you will forever be saved from the burden of sin.
You shall see God
According to one of the beatitudes of Jesus on the mountain, he made it known to the people that whoever is found pure in heart would see God.
Sin brought a gap between God and man. For that reason, God sent his son to reunite God and man. Therefore, whoever found to have a pure heart, free from sin and wickedness, would see God.
Receive the gift of the holy spirit
In David’s prayer in Psalms 51:11, David asked God not to cast him away from his presence and do not remove the holy spirit from him. David knew the importance of the presence of God within him.
After all, he wouldn’t have achieved all those victories without the directories of the holy spirit. Peter had also preached in Acts 2:38. People to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.
And they shall receive the gift of the holy spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit brings ministration and power to heal the sick. The fruits of the Holy Spirit that according to Galatians 5:22-23, are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
This concept is for you to know that having a clean heart can make you enjoy the fruit of the Holy Spirit and his gifts.
How to cleanse your heart spiritually?
You can clean your heart spiritually by the following;
- By guarding your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity, keep corrupt talks from your lips (Proverbs 4:23).
- By declaring Jesus is Lord. And believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, then you will be saved (Romans10:9).
- By admitting that you have sinned, and you are ready for repentance (Psalms 51:4). Then ask God for his mercies (Psalms 51:1)
Conclusion
I hope you understand that the gospel doesn’t just save us from eternal death. It makes a new creature. Relief your mind from any evil, and ask God to create a clean in you.