I love praying the Psalms. I love praying to God with the inspired words of Scripture. This morning I was praying through Psalm 86. It is a beautiful “Prayer of David,” and begins “Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help.”
There is always one verse in that song, and one small phrase in that verse that gives me pause. The verse is Verse 5: “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help,” and the phrase is “so ready to forgive.” [NLT]
If God is “so ready to forgive,” why do we find it so difficult to run to him when we’ve blown it. And yes, even after surrendering my life to Him 53 years ago … I still blow it. I still fail. I still lose my temper. My patience often has a limit. My words are not always kind. I am not always merciful – I could go on, but it’s safe to say, “I am not perfected – yet!”
I remember my former pastor saying that when he realized he’d ‘blown it,’ he immediately turned around and ran to God for forgiveness. I think he truly understand just how ready God is to forgive.
“O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.”
When we wallow around in guilt and shame and misery, it isn’t because God is unwilling to forgive, it’s because we fail to run to Him and ask for His help.
