Have Mercy On Me, O God Series

And not only it is true that Christ is the way to God the Father, He is also our way to forgiveness for our sins and to overcome temptation.

Have mercy on me, O God. Where have we heard these words before or have we?

Luke 18:9-14 “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

God, have mercy on me a sinner. This is similar to what David prayed. And it’s a prayer that all of us need to pray and perhaps every day. Have you prayed this pray today? Will you pray it every day? I would suggest you do this if you wish to be justified before God. You have to go down before you can ever go up! You have to fall down before God before He can ever lift you up.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved.”

Our God is rich in mercy and it’s a very good thing or else none of us could be saved. David is confessing or giving a testimony about God.

Have mercy on me, O God. “Your compassion is great so please blot out my sins. Wash them away. Cleanse me.” These are all prayers we can pray and should.

II. A PRAYER OF OF CONCESSION

(acknowledgment or admission of being a sinner)

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

ILL.- A little nine year old girl was in church with her mother when she started feeling ill. "Mommy" she said "Can we leave now?" "No" her mother replied. "Well, I think I have to throw up!" "Then go out the front door and around to the back of the church and throw up behind a bush." In about two minutes the little girl returned to her seat.

"Did you throw up?" her mother asked. "Yes" the little girl replied. "Well, how could you have gone all the way to the back of the church and return so quickly?" "I didn’t have to go out of the church, Mommy" the little girl replied, "They have a box next to the front door that says ’for the sick’."

The church is for sick people, sin-sick people. And all of us need to recognize and acknowledge our sin-sickness.