Fast 2026 - Day 18

Create, Renew, Restore

Psalm 51; 10 & 12  Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a right spirit within me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.

This word create, or “bara” in Hebrew, means “to make something from nothing, to bring about new conditions and circumstances that previously did not exist.  The scriptures tell us that the heart is deceitful above all things and David became aware of his sin and the deception of his own heart, cried out to God to forgive him and to create in him something that didn’t exist—a clean innocent pure heart.  This is exactly what happens to us when the blood of Jesus covers our sins—it creates in us a heart that is made clean and pure and spotless.  Though our sins be as scarlet His blood makes us white as snow!

The word renew means to repair or to make new again.  When Nathan the prophet confronted David about his sin and what God had to say about it, David’s spirit was broken within him.  He saw the truth and the seriousness of what he had done and he was truly heartbroken by how far his sin had taken him.  He cried out for God’s mercy and forgiveness; he cried out for a clean pure heart; and he cried out that God would renew his broken spirit and make him right with God again.  The thought of broken fellowship with God truly broke his heart.  The word says that God loves a broken and contrite spirit; that kind of heart and repentance moves Him to repair and mend the broken hearted and to clean up (restore) the mess that they have made.  He runs to meet them with love, mercy, and compassion and makes new again their relationship with Him.

The word Restore comes from the same root word as renew but goes even further—it means to bring back to its original state; to build again; to refresh; to repair; to bring back to full capacity; to take back what has been lost. The joy of friendship David had with the Lord had been broken when he gave into lust and committed adultery with Bathsheba.  We can see this clearly because instead of running to God and asking for His help and forgiveness, which is what he had always done—he tried to cover up what he had done and fix things on his own and it led to the murder of an innocent man.  It took the prophet confronting him for him to realize what he had done.  He cried out that God would restore their intimate friendship which was the joy of his life.

Father, as we humble ourselves and draw near, search our hearts and forgive our sins.  Be merciful to us and create in us clean hearts; renew right spirits within us!  Restore to us the joy of Your salvation!  Fill us fresh with Your Holy Spirit and fill our lives with love, joy, peace and truth!  In Jesus Name, Amen!