I will be glad to help you by pointing out some needful scriptures to you. Let’s begin by considering King David as he sought to be restored to the Lord after allowing sin into his life. We read his words in Psalms 51:1-3, “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” David’s sin had haunted him and he could not get away from his guilt before the Lord. He goes on to say in verse 4, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned…” David confessed his sin and acknowledged that he has sinned against God. In truth, ALL sin is sin against God. He asked for mercy and cleansing. Let’s read 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Even as David confessed his sin, we should confess our sin to the Lord. When we do that, He promises to forgive us and to cleanse us from our sin…the acts of unrighteousness which we have committed.

David realized that it was his cold relationship with the Lord that caused him to sin. He said in verse 10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” He goes on to say in verse 12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” David realizes that he cannot do these things. He cannot create a clean heart within himself, or renew a right spirit. He cannot restore the joy of the Lord’s salvation or uphold himself. So, all these things he lays at the Lord’s feet and depends upon Him to restore him to the place he needs to be.

Notice that I skipped over verse 11. There David says, “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” In the church age in which we live, as believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord has promised to never leave us. We read His words in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” The Lord has also promised that the Holy Spirit will not depart from us. We read in Ephesians 4:30, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby YE ARE SEALED UNTO THE DAY OF REDEMPTION.” What joy and comfort for us today. The Lord will never leave us, neither will His Spirit ever leave us. We don’t have to pray for this as David did. That, in itself, should help restore us to our loving Lord.

As we seek to be restored to the Lord, we must ask what He expects from us. We read in Psalms 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” The Lord desires a broken spirit and heart. Broken under the weight of the guilt of our sins, brought to the place where we despise the sin that has taken us away from the Lord. There is no room for pride in our confession before the Lord. In fact, if we are prideful, the confession in merely words and will not bring us to restoration.

This is the first necessary step for the believer to be restored to the Lord. Confess your sins to Him. He will forgive, He will cleanse, He will welcome you back. You can be sure of this one thing: The Lord longs for you to be restored. He longs to fellowship with you and bless you. He longs to be able to use you in His service. In closing, let’s consider the ‘prodigal son’ in Luke 16. After leaving his father’s presence, he went out into the world and wasted all he had. He finally ‘came to himself’ and longed to be with his father once again. We read in Luke 15:20-24, “And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.” The father was so glad to have his son come home. Our Heavenly Father is so glad when we return to Him with a broken and contrite spirit, seeking to be restored to Himself. (256.10)