Most of have restored items in our homes. Some of them are pieces of furniture that have been refinished or repaired. In some cases, they may be family treasures that have been passed down and have seen many years of memories. We have, in our home, a walnut table that my great grandfather made and my mother removed the old finish and restained it, revealing a beautiful grain. When we have a meal seated around that table, I am reminded of family through the years that have sat around that same table. It is good to know that there is still purpose when well worn items are restored. And what a significant reminder that our God specializes in restoration. God lovingly takes us as we are with our brokenness and our flaws and He restores us to be who He created us to be.
We catch sight of this possibility in the prayer that David wrote in Psalm 51:10-12 10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.11 Do not cast me from Your Presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” When,we like David have sinned and gone our own way, God welcomes us back to Himself. God is able to do what is necessary to take us with our mistakes and regrets and to work the miracle of His ability to renew. When we recall the joy that comes with our initial experience of salvation, we can recognize that over time and with our misguided choices we may have lost sight of God and His best plans for us. When God renews us and restores us, He invites us back into close relationship with Him. Whenever we turn to God in prayer, it can be a time of renewal and restoration for us and for those for whom we pray.
This Covid pandemic has been a time that has challenged all of us around our level of commitment to God. During the pre Covid time, when there were so many different activities going on, there was the danger that we would do everything but spend time with God and listening for Him. Now with fewer things to distract us, it can be a time of restoration and asking God to renew steadfast spirits within us. Even the time taken to pray is an opportunity that has come to us out of a heightened awareness of the need to turn to God in prayer. Rather than take His Holy Spirit from us, God wants to renew us as we are filled with His Holy Spirit and restored and transformed to serve God! We can pray along with David to be renewed and restored in our faith as we join for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER, tomorrow Wednesday, October 21st at 1pm.
Here is a prayer that we can bring to God: Our God, who is full of love and mercy, we marvel at the fact that You are the Master Renovator. We give You our humble thanks that You are persistent in Your plans for our renewal and restoration. Thank You that You are able to see the promise in us when we cannot see this promise. Thank You God that the promise of who we can be, comes because of You, not us. We long for a closer and deeper relationship with You that happens when You create pure hearts in us and renew steadfast spirits within us. Forgive us, we pray, for the times that we settle for less than Your design for us. Forgive us for not coming to you for Your restoring power. God, You know that we have been through this before. Sin has marred what You intend in us and You have had to remind us of our salvation and our commitment to You. Thank You God for Your commitment to us that results in You being willing to do Your work of restoration. Loving God, we recognize that we live in a world of people needing restoration. Please help us to live in ways that reveal that people can come to You for renewal and reestablishing of covenant with You. LORD this is the hope that our world needs right now. You continue to provide skillful hands to shape and reshape us into creations that can reveal Your love and grace. We pray for all the places where this possibility of renewal and restoration are needed. We see this in us. We see this in people we live with and work alongside. We see this in our neighbourhoods. We see this in the political realm. LORD in many ways, it seems that people have lost sight of You. Please bring all of us back to a place of surrender to You and Your redeeming love. We know that when we need further restoration that You will provide this gift for us and we thank You. Rather than notice where we think others need renovation and renewal, please help us to deal with our own issues before You. Thank You God that when we lose our way, You seek us and find us and bring us back home to be restored to You. No one else loves us with this kind of love and we are in awe of You. Please continue Your holy work of restoration and create pure hearts in us, in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.