Abundant Goodness

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

God is always listening, even when we are not praying. He showers all people with goodness, the just and the unjust, the deserving and the undeserving (Matthew 5:45). His steadfast love and faithfulness endure forever, even when we run from it.

Have you ever hidden from God? Have you ever felt the crippling effects hiding from God foist on your conscience and health? King David knew it all too well. After committing adultery with a married woman and attempting to conceal his sin by murdering her unwitting husband, he felt the harsh effects of hiding his sin from God. Listen to the words he journaled in Psalm 32: “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat” (verse 3–4).

Now that sure sounds like the confession of a man overcome with guilt and oblivious to God’s mercy.

Thankfully, David’s journal entry did not stop with verse 4. He went on to say, “Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my [sin] to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (verse 5). As he confessed his sin to God, God gave him what he did not deserve, the gifts of mercy and forgiveness.

Because we do sin in our thoughts and actions, by what we do and by what we leave undone, the Bible invites us to make confession part of our daily lives because God faithfully and justly forgives “our sins and purifies our unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). And when we do, we are freed to make David’s profession in Psalm 32: “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them” (verses 1–2).

Thanks be to God that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Jesus Christ! With this good news in mind, make time today to pray because God’s grace and mercy meet whatever you bring him.

The Lord’s peace be with you.