“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbour, and casts no slur on others;” ~ Psalm 15:1-3

Thinking of yourself as “a pretty good person” only holds up if you’re comparing yourself to other people.

Maybe you accept this Christian idea that “all have sinned” because it’s in the Bible, but you’re not actually convinced you’re really bad—especially when other people have done xyz…

Honestly, sometimes the way the Church talks about sin is confusing. They declare we are all guilty of it, but aside from the 10 commandments, we are left with a lot of questions about what sin actually looks like.

So today, as we continue on this 40-day Lenten journey, we’re meditating on Psalm 15:1-3. And though it doesn’t provide a lot of specific answers, it does remind us of some pretty high standards that, if we’re honest with ourselves, we fall really short of.

Psalm 15:1-3

1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?

2 The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;

3 whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbour,
and casts no slur on others.

Observations

God’s space is set apart as special (v. 1)
None of us are completely blameless (v. 2)
It’s hard to control how honest our hearts are (v. 2)
We’re all guilty of thinking or speaking ill of others (v. 3)

Prayers of Response

Father, when it came to _________, I know now that I did not choose what was right. Just as you forgive me, help me to forgive myself. Lord, I admit that I did not speak honestly from my heart when _________.

Prayer Requests

Father, please show me how I can be open and honest about _________, while still honouring others and avoiding gossip. I ask that you’d soften _________’s (name) heart to know and love what is true and right.

Prayers of Readiness

Holy Spirit, please help me be blameless as I deal with _________ today.Lord, give me eyes to see the best in others, especially when it comes to _________.

A simple prayer like this can be all we need to get started connecting with God in our Lent journeys. To follow more of our journey through Lent and check out our other Lent devotions click here!

Original content by Reclaim Today. Reshared with permission.