Psalm 51 is famously a song and prayer of repentance. I encourage you to read all 19 verses. God had allowed King David’s life to unravel because of David’s violations of God’s own good guidelines. With his life at rock bottom, David turned to God for help.

David may have looked the perfect king as he walked the halls of his palace, but God was not interested in a pretty exterior. Under the surface, David was dwelling in deep sin and self-deception. He had cut himself off from God’s transformative peace. Similarly, when power plays, deceit, and disgust toward others runs rampant in our hearts, our soothing words and plastered smiles don’t fool God.

God doesn’t just plaster over our cracks to make us look like good Christians. He wants to work at our foundation to build us into individuals who dwell in the deep truths of his kingdom. This is good news! Building something beautiful is slow work, but each day, with effort and the Holy Spirit providing the power, we do change.

Daily we can pray this prayer of David’s: “Enter me, [Lord]; conceive a new, true life” (Psalm 51:6 MSG).