David was claimed by God and called, "a man after my own heart." He was a small shepherd boy who had bested the lion and the bear. He struck down the Philistine giant. He had slain his 10,000s. All of this David did because he trusted in the Lord. He knew he was great because of His great God who was full of faithful love.
But even this shepherd boy grew calloused, hard and unfeeling. Years of war, stress and fear exhausted him and lowered his defenses. He stayed home from the battlefield, nursing old scars. He let his eyes wander. He casually waved his hand to get whatever he wanted. He revealed that even he, the man after God's own heart, was a wretched man... a sinner like the rest of us.
Every day we get more calloused, hard and unfeeling. We get mean and scary even to ourselves! We are made painfully aware of our humanity and its limitations. We know we are a wretched person like David, the Apostle Paul and all the others...
So Lord, we plead with David and all the brothers and sisters, please create a new heart in us! Make us people after your own heart! Please!
Make us innocent and pure again to face tomorrow without loathing and despair. Clean out our grudges, our regret and our pain so that we do not return to another day with malice and hate. Give us childlike faith again and reignite our relentless hope born out of your relentless life.