Won’t He Make You Clean Inside?

In the Muslim culture, prior to making prayer (Salat) or touching the Quran (their holy book) Muslims must make mandatory ablution (Tahara), which is the formal, often religious, act of washing oneself. Salat is five ritualized prayers performed at certain times throughout the day and night.

This is part of the obligation for every adult Muslin so that a connection with Allah is made. Muslim men, women, and children must do this ritual before making Salat. There are two types of ritual ablution, Wuda and Ghusl and they encompass both physical and spiritual cleaning. Wudu is partial ablution it involves daily washing of hands, mouth, nose, face, arms, head, ears, and feet. Ghusl is full ablution this is a full-body bath required after major impurities like sexual intercourse or menstruation.
 
Prior to Salat the following mandatory Ablution rituals must be observed. Water actually touching the skin so that anything on the skin can be washed off completely. This procedure includes:
1. mentally preparing to purify for the sake of Allah,
2. saying in “In the name of Allah” before starting,
3. washing both hands up to the wrist 3 times,
4. rinsing the mouth and nose 3 times,
5. washing the entire face from the hairline to the chin and from ear to ear 3 times
6. washing both arms up to the elbows three times starting with the right arm
7. wiping the head with wet hands once from front to back and back to front.
8. Cleaning the inside and outside of both ears with damp fingers once
9. Washing both feet up to and including the ankles making sure that water goes between the toes

In the Christian faith, a believer can talk to God whenever he/she wants. The work done at the cross by Jesus Christ was done for all of humanity. However, when you accept Christ as your personal Savior you are made clean. The blood of Christ, confession of sin, and the work of the Holy Spirit is how believers are made clean.

The personal relationship with Christ allows for direct communication with God. And although you should be in a proper mindset when praying, prayer can be made at any time and any place.   1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."   1 John 1:7 states "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from sin."

While we do not practice the ritual of self-purification,  we should be pure of mind when we pray,  the ability to come to the Lord in prayer in the mist of sin is a wonderful thing. In the mist of sin there may be conviction that causes immediate pause and communication with the Lord. Physical cleaning of the body does not cleanse the heart, because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).
 
It is during our darkest hours that the Lord says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28). Moreover, internal cleaning is done by the Lord and shows itself on the outside in the way we act, dress, and talk. The Lord says in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together...Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”  You can approach the Lord dirty, smelly, covered in sin and He will accept you, forgive you, and make you clean.

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, 'come as you are' is a form of grace that we often take for granted. Thank You for seeing pass my filth and seeing the best of me. Thank You for being obedient even to the cross so a sinner like me could be made whole. Thank You for cleaning up the inside so that my outside reveals Your love. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
By Sis. Patricia Towns