Daily Devotion

Voice: Noppadon

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Today is Friday, 19th of June. Let’s take a moment to be still before the Lord.

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Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
⁶ Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
¹⁰ 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.

¹⁸ Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
¹⁹ then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

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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A Broken Heart

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 heart.

A broken heart, in this context, isn’t simply about regret or 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 seeks for help from God and others. 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 broken 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 collect for today:

Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love are nothing worth: send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love, the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake,
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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Join in to worship the Lord in these familiar songs:

We are standing on holy ground
And I know that there are angels
All around
Let us praise Jesus now
We are standing in his presence
On holy ground

This is holy ground
We’re standing on holy ground
For the Lord is present
And where He is is holy
This is holy ground
We’re standing on holy ground
For the Lord is present
And where He is is holy

Link to full Morning Office