Daily Devotion

16 May – Seek a Broken Heart

Audio

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Today is Friday, the 16th of May. Let’s gather our scattered thoughts and lift our eyes to the Lord.

The Psalm reading is Psalm 51, verses 10 to 17

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

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The Scripture Reading is Ephesians 6, verses 1 to 9.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ³ “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

⁵ Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, ⁶ not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,⁷ rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, ⁸ knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. ⁹ Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

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Reflection

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We’re all familiar with the moral failure of King David—a man after God’s own heart—whose brokenness led him to write Psalm 51, one of the most honest and heartfelt prayers of repentance in Scripture. There, he pleads with God for a clean, right, broken, and contrite hear

A broken heart, in this context, isn’t simply about sorrow. It speaks of a posture of humility—a heart that is open, tender, and surrendered before God and others. It has cracks wide enough for the Holy Spirit to move, for God’s light to filter in. It’s not sealed in pride or encased in darkness.

Instead of being hardened by sin, a contrite heart is soft and responsive. It feels remorse. It recognizes guilt. It is malleable, like clay in the hands of the potter. It does not resist correction but welcomes the gentle shaping of God’s hands.

This kind of heart is not closed off from God—it hears and responds to His Word.

While brokenness is not the goal in itself, it is the gateway to a clean and upright heart. Without brokenness, there can be no genuine transformation. And without transformation, there can be no true discipleship.

Out of a broken heart grows right desires—desires that seek God, long for holiness, and yearn for deeper intimacy with Him. Such a heart can truly love God and walk closely in His presence.

None of us are perfect. But we can choose to keep our hearts soft before God.

So today, will you ask Him for a broken heart?
Not in despair—but in humility, that you may walk daily in His grace,
and experience the joy of His presence?

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

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We end with the Ash Wednesday Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our brokenness, 
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness; 
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, 
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Be blessed by this rendition of “Create in me a clean heart”

Link to today’s Morning Office