By Does your sin not at times get you in trouble with others, harm your Christian testimony, and fill you with a sense of deep guilt? Do you not then feel torn between the urge to pour it out to the Lord, and the urge to run away and hide from the Lord? Psalm 38 puts words to the prayer that you need to pray at such a time.
Psalm 38:1-6
“LORD, I have sinned greatly; I was very foolish; You have disciplined me publicly, and the weight of it overwhelms all my thoughts and emotions with great sadness.”
Psalm 38:7-14
“LORD, my physical body is affected by my current state; my friends don’t care any-more; my enemies use my sin against me. I feel like I cannot even share the Gospel any more because of my guilt.”
Psalm 38:15-22
“So I turn to You. I am ready to give up, so I turn to You and ask for help. Please forgive my sin and renew to me the zeal for doing what is good and right. LORD, stay near me and help me, Amen.”
Another lesson from the fact that such a prayer of lament has been written down as a Psalm is to move us from sorrowful prayer to meaningful song. Listen, meditate, and sing along about “Our sins they are many, His mercy if more!”
