Last month I wrote a devotional about longing for others to have a better life and the intercessory prayer that follows that longing. This devotional will be more about an example of how to pray for someone else then necessarily the word clean. I wanted to take my last two devotionals a little further to bring out and demonstrate how I “longed” for someone in my prayer life.

For demonstration purposes a great piece of scripture to turn into a powerful prayer for yourself or someone else is Psalm 51:1-15:

Have mercy on him, O God,

because of your unfailing love.

Because of your great compassion,

blot out the stain of his sins.

Wash him clean from his guilt.

Purify him from his sin.

For he recognizes his rebellion;

it haunts him day and night.

Against you, and you alone, has he sinned;

He has done what is evil in your sight.

You will be proved right in what you say,

and your judgment against him is just.

For he was born a sinner—

\yes, from the moment his mother conceived him.

But you desire honesty from the womb,

teaching him wisdom even there.

Purify him from his sins, and he will be clean;

wash him, and he will be whiter than snow.

Oh, give him back his joy again;

you have broken him— now let him rejoice.

Don’t keep looking at his sins.

Remove the stain of his guilt.

Create in him a clean heart, O God.

Renew a loyal spirit within him.

Do not banish him from your presence,

and don’t take your Holy Spirit from him.

Restore to him the joy of your salvation,

and make him willing to obey you.

Then he will teach your ways to rebels,

and they will return to you.

Forgive him for shedding blood, O God who saves;

then he will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

Unseal his lips, O Lord,

that his mouth may praise you.

Psalm 51:1-15

I wrote this whole scripture multiple times and combined my favorite translations then prayed and meditated on it frequently. The one verse that stuck out to me was Psalm 51:10, “Create in him a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within him.” The visual of a clean heart was something I could hold onto. The Hebrew word for clean used here means: pure (in a physical, chemical, ceremonial or moral sense), clean, fair, pure. The root word means to be bright, pure, unadulterated, innocent or holy. 

When you are praying for something or someone make sure you find a scripture that speaks to you. A scripture that might mean the world to someone else might not be the one you can stand on. This is one of the reasons I started 320 Letters. Each individual has a personal relationship with Jesus. One scripture can mean a million different things to a million different people. He isn’t about a cookie cutter routine but about an honest relationship that changes with seasons, needs, and personalities. 

I hope this example helps you pick a scripture or multiple to lean into for a prayer request. Take a scripture… Personalize it…Combine different translations… Make it your own. The Lord longs for us to take His word and make it our own. Make it something we can digest and use in your daily life. That is what 320 Letters is all about, God wants a one of a kind relationship with you!

Posted 03/01/2023