Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

Have mercy on me, O God: As long as you live in your body and on this earth, you will never be perfect. There will always be moments when you make mistakes, fail, sin, and hurt yourself, others, and God’s plan. Grace and mercy are a special provision from your heavenly Father. Grace is a process He uses on you that allows you to have things you don’t deserve. Mercy is a process that God uses on you that keeps you from being punished for things you deserve to be held accountable for. Pray for a pure heart based on God’s grace and mercy.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion: The ONLY reason you can believe in God’s grace and mercy is because you know God loves you. In order to pray this psalm-prayer in faith, you will have to receive a pure heart based on God’s mercy, His unfailing love, and His great compassion.

Blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin: You have transgressed; you have crossed over the line and have done things that aren’t right, good, or righteous. Now you need your heart purified. Blotting, washing and cleansing are the first step into a pure heart. Pray this psalm-prayer and ask for this process.

Psalm 51:9 (NIV) Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. From salvation on, all your past, present, AND future sins have been forgiven by God. When you pray: “Hide Your face from my sins, you are asking Him to not see what is actually there. When you pray: “Blot out all my iniquity,” you are asking Him to erase a record of things you have ACTUALLY done, are ACTUALLY doing, and will ACTUALLY do. You are asking for grace and mercy to be applied to your heart to make it pure.

Rom 6:11 (NIV) In the same way, COUNT yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Your pure heart is going to have to be “counted” pure. Counting, crediting, considering, calling, and reconning are all faith words that are representing a special provision from God. Rom 4:17B (NIV) The God Who gives life to the dead and CALLS things that are not as though they were. Your pure heart is first CREDITED to you. Then it grows into a pure heart that ACTUALLY treats you, the people around you, and God’s plan with purity.

Psalm 51:10 (NIV) Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. With grace, mercy, and forgiveness in place through salvation, you are in the perfect place for God to start creating a pure heart in you. All you have to do is pray for a pure heart and a steadfast spirit within you. Pray this psalm-prayer for a pure heart; this will start the process of God empowering you to WANT to do the right things and HATE doing wrong things (Rom 7:15). Also, pray this prayer for a steadfast spirit; this will bring God’s power into your inner being (spirit) and help you constantly reach out for DOING and SAYING pure things to people.

Psalm 51:11 (NIV) Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. The only way for you to give up your salvation is for you to reject God’s warnings through the Bible, other people, and through your conscience. You would have to tell God you no longer want His salvation; or you would have to refuse to repent and make a U-turn. Then and only then would He ever cast you from His presence or take His Holy Spirit from you. You have to WANT to be set free from the requirements of Christianity and the Bible. When you mess up like all Christians do, pray this part of this prayer and it will establish the fact that you have not changed your mind about salvation; and, it will keep you heading toward being pure in heart.

Psalm 51:12 (NIV) Restore to me the JOY of Your salvation and grant me a WILLING spirit, to sustain me. There are two vital things in this prayer: Restoration and willingness. A major thing happens to you, when you start walking away from spending time with God; you lose the joy and the will to do righteousness. This is because your WILLING spirit has been contaminated by some temptation, by worldly cares, or by a feeling of not wanting to spend time with God. Pray this prayer so you will be motivated by joy and a willing spirit. These two things will be your motivation for yielding to being pure in heart.

Psalm 51:13 (NIV) Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You. Nathan helped David; then David helped those around him; and now God is using David’s story to help you through this prayer-psalm. Sharing your story and helping others get the breakthroughs you get is how Christianity works. Pray this prayer as a request, not a promise. If you ask for God’s power to do this, you will succeed. If you promise Him that YOU will do this, you will fail. Praying and asking rather than promising are your pathway into being pure in heart.

Psalm 51:14-15 (NIV) Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God Who saves me, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. Bloodguilt is murder; God forgave David of adultery and murder. No matter what God forgives you for, pray and ask Him to empower you to sing and praise Him for it. Appreciation is vital for your attitudes and character which are the two parts of your heart. Ask God to help you see how bad your misdeeds are (mourning). Then ask Him to show you how wonderful His forgiveness and blessings are (praising). Mourning and praising purify your heart.

When you tell God what you WILL do, like: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth WILL declare Your praise.” Ask God to help you be looking to Him for opening your lips and empowering you to declare His praise. If you are promising God that YOU will do it, you are looking to your power, determination, and commitment; that contaminates your heart. If you believe that God is empowering you to do it, you are looking to God and His power-determination, His power-commitment, and His creating these abilities and results in you; that purifies your heart.

Psalm 51:16 (NIV) You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The Old Testament system was just a picture, an example, an illustration showing how the spiritual principles of the New Testament work; sacrifices and burnt offerings weren’t what God really wanted; they had to be offered over and over again.

Jesus died for EVERYONE’S sins AND He did it only once. Rom 6:10 (NIV) The death He died, He died to sin ONCE for ALL; but the life He lives, He lives to God.Once we accept Jesus’ sacrifice, it can last for eternity.

Psalm 51:17 (NIV) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. This is talking about God’s power-mourning that you have already looked at. If you pray for this, then you will have fulfilled the real desire God had in the Old Testament and has in the New Testament. God’s power-mourning helps you feel bad enough so you will yield to repentance and making a U-turn; it cleans your heart out. Pray this psalm-prayer asking for a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart; this will lead you into having a pure heart.