A Prayer for a Repentant Heart by Christine Brown, read by Liam Arton.

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.

You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Jesus told his disciples the story of a young man who left home with his portion of the inheritance.

After spending every penny on frivolous living, the son returned home.

He confessed his sin and asked his father for forgiveness.

Luke 1521 says this, the son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.

Well, I can relate to this son's regret.

To the feeling of shame comes over us when we realize we've allowed sin to have a place in our lives.

In the pain of regret, there's a brokenness and a longing to be forgiven.

Even though we may face consequences for our sin, without God's forgiveness, we'll never experience the freedom he offers.

The word repentance can be defined as feeling regret and wanting to do what is right.

But when we look at the idea of repentance through the eyes of our faith, we'll discover new meaning.

A repentant heart begins with a desire to give up the sin that so easily entangles as it says in Hebrews 121.

But true repentance means so much more, more than feeling bad or trying to be a better person than we were before,

it reveals our brokenness and our desperate need for a Savior.

Repentance isn't just turning away from sin, it's also bringing our brokenness to the Father.

In Psalm 51 17, King David cried out to God with a repentant heart.

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit, you will not reject a broken and repentant heart, oh God.

Like in the prodigal son's story that Jesus told, David gave in to the temptation of sin, he too regretted his decision and understood the shame we feel when we do things we know we shouldn't.

With soul-bearing honesty, David turned toward the Lord, asking him to cleanse and renew his spirit.

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