June 2: A Clean Heart

You’ve tried to change yourself before. Maybe many times.

David prays: create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.

The word “create” is important. It’s the same word used in the first verse of Genesis, when God created the heavens and the earth. It’s a word for something only God does. Making something out of nothing. Bringing life where there wasn’t any.

David isn’t asking God to help him try harder. He’s asking for a new creation. He knows he can’t scrub his own heart clean.

That’s the heart of Step Six. You’ve spent months looking at yourself. You’ve seen the patterns. And maybe part of you is now making plans to fix them. Try harder to be patient. Work on being less selfish. Be more honest.

Those aren’t bad goals. But if you try to do it on willpower alone, you’ll probably end up where you were with drinking. Promises, effort, failure, shame. The same cycle.

Step Six asks for something different. Not a self-improvement plan. A readiness to let God create something new. Your part is willingness. His part is the creating.

This is a relief, actually. You don’t have to become a different person by force. You have to become willing, and then cooperate as God works.

Mornings can be a good time for this prayer. Before the day’s pressures start. Before old habits kick in. Just this: create in me a clean heart. Renew a right spirit in me.

You might not feel anything happen. That’s normal. God’s creating often happens slowly, below the surface, like a seed in the ground. You’ll notice it later, looking back.

It may help to remember that David prayed this after his worst failure. He didn’t wait until he’d cleaned himself up. He prayed it from the bottom. That means you can pray it from wherever you are this morning, too. No warm-up required.

And when you notice a small change later, a kinder word, a calmer moment, give God the credit. That’s how you learn to trust His work.

One thing today

Pray Psalm 51:10 each morning this week before you look at your phone. Write the verse on a card and keep it where you’ll see it.

A prayer

God, create in me a clean heart. I can’t make it myself. Renew a right spirit within me. I’m willing for You to do what I can’t. Amen.

Read about Step Six.

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