Tag: prayer

I will not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the eyes of my heart are enlightened to see the surest, and truest hope we should all have in you. 2 Kings 6:17

2 Kings 6:14-20 Complete Jewish Bible

14 So he sent horses, chariots and a large army there; they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 The servant of the man of God got up early in the morning; on going outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. His servant said to him, “Oh, my master, this is terrible! What are we going to do?” 16 He answered, “Don’t be afraid — those who are with us outnumber those who are with them!” 17 Elisha prayed, “Adonai, I ask you to open his eyes, so that he can see.” Then Adonai opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw: there before him, all around Elisha, the mountain was covered with horses and fiery chariots. 18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Adonai, “Please strike these people blind”; and he struck them blind, as Elisha had asked. 19 Next, Elisha told them, “You’ve lost your way, and this isn’t even the right city. Follow me, and I’ll take you to the man you’re looking for.” Then he led them to Shomron. 20 On their arrival in Shomron, Elisha said, “Adonai, open the eyes of these men, so that they can see.” Adonai opened their eyes, and they saw: there they were, in the middle of Shomron.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Prophet Elisha’s servant was looking but not seeing. He saw only hopelessness. He saw the army of Aram surrounding their town, but he did not see the host of the angel Army protecting God’s people. He was walking in spiritual blindness.

We can be the same way.

We might see only disappointments, or discouragements, or hopelessness, our spiritual enemies descending with all their might, all around us, our dark souls.

We might fear the stranger, complain about the lazy, and point fingers at those who disagree. We might fear that the world is lost to the devil, and we are the ones who suffer. We might be baited, shackled to the idea of putting God aside so we all can earn our fortune and have fun, only to experience everlasting loss.

Elisha’s prayer is a great way to address our blindness to God’s sovereignty. We can pray, “Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see.” When our eyes are opened, we see our sin as the chief of sins and the lust of the flesh as rebellion against God.

And we finally see that Jesus has already won the victory. Christ already rules in heaven. This world is all in his hands. Have no fear, for we know that God wins.

When the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, “he looked up and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” All these angelic heavenly hosts were surrounding and protecting them. The servant’s fear melted away. If there is an Elisha warrior praying for us, God is on our side, who can stand against us?

Ephesians 1:15-21 Amplified Bible

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers; 17 [I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. 18 And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the [a]hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the [b]saints (God’s people), 19 and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength 20 which He [c]produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come.

In order to go deeper in God, we must allow him to open the eyes of our hearts to see him as he truly is.

So often we settle in our relationship with him for that which can only be seen with our physical eyes.

We settle for community apart from unity in the Spirit, God’s word apart from revelation from the Spirit, and look to “open” or “closed” doors as our guide rather than making space to ask for the Holy Spirit’s leadership.

It’s time for us as the body of Christ to truly live in the fullness of relationship afforded to us by his sacrifice.

It’s for this reason, in Ephesians 1:16-19, Paul told the Church in Ephesus,

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.

We need the “eyes of our hearts” to be enlightened today.

We need the Holy Spirit to come and do a mighty work that we might no longer live only for that which is seen, but by faith pursue the unseen. 

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” 

God longs for us to pursue the deeper things of him in faith. He longs for us to grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit and learn to live life with his presence, leadership, voice, and love as the foundation for everything we do.

To live only by the things we can physically see is to live only for that which is temporal and fleeting. 

Psalm 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.” 

God has worthwhile work in store for us. He has a plan to bring heaven to earth through our lives every day. But in order to make an impact on eternity we must be able to see, know the heart of God. We must become, as Elisha, increasingly aware of exactly how God feels and what he wants to do moment-by-moment.

Growing in our relationship with the Holy Spirit is the foundation of seeking the deeper things of God.

Learning to live by and with him is the only way to advance his kingdom.

Take time in guided prayer today to ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart. Ask him to lead, guide and direct you into a deeper, far more connected relationship with him. And choose Elisha’s prayer today, to pursue a life marked by deep connection with your heavenly Father and powerful works of his Spirit.

17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, please, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servants eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.

Guided Prayer:

1. Ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart. Meditate on Scripture and take time to rest in his presence.

“Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians 1:18

“Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17

“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both.” Proverbs 20:12

2. Where have you been doing life apart from connectivity to the Spirit? Where have you been living temporally instead of for eternity?

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you live connected to him today.

“Be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18

“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own” 1 Corinthians 6:19

Jesus promised us in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” 

When we authentically seek all the blessings which God has to give such as being loved, being known, being provided for, and being filled with the Spirit, we can know that we will find what we seek.

The door to going deeper in God will always be opened whenever we come to it and knock.

God will never withhold himself from us when we purely desire more of him.

Have faith today in the perfect goodness of your heavenly Father and deeply pursue the deeper things of him that you might live in greater union with him.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Sprit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 42 Complete Jewish Bible

Book II: Psalms 42–72

42 (0) For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach:

2 (1) Just as a deer longs for running streams,
God, I long for you.
3 (2) I am thirsty for God, for the living God!
When can I come and appear before God?

4 (3) My tears are my food, day and night,
while all day people ask me, “Where is your God?”
5 (4) I recall, as my feelings well up within me,
how I’d go with the crowd to the house of God,
with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs
observing the festival.

6 (5) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for the salvation that comes from his presence.
7 (6) My God, when I feel so downcast,
I remind myself of you
from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon,
from the hill Mizar.
8 (7) Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me.
9 (8) By day Adonai commands his grace,
and at night his song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
10 (9) I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
under pressure by the enemy?
11 (10) My adversaries’ taunts make me feel
as if my bones were crushed,
as they ask me all day long,
‘Where is your God?’ ”

12 (11) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for being my Savior and God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Elohim Shama: The God Who Hears. Exodus 2:23-25

Exodus 2:23-25 Amplified Bible

23 Now it happened after a long time [about forty years] that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel (Jacob) groaned and sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out. And their cry for help because of their bondage  [a]ascended to God. 24  So God heard their groaning and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). 25 God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice [of them]  and was concerned about them [knowing all, understanding all, remembering all].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The beginning of the beloved Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” depicts many people praying simultaneously, and the juxtaposition of voices — to our ears — becomes a cacophony of noise.

How exactly, we wonder, does God separate each voice to hear individual prayers? Does He answer them all? Then we wonder, “Does God hear me?”

The question posed is a perplexing one when viewed through our human lens.

How does God keep everyone’s praises and prayers straight?

How does He hear them all?

And, in a far more personal nature, how exactly do I know He hears me?

The answer, of course, is to regard who God is and how we are to “see” Him according to what Scripture teaches us.

We’ll investigate what the Bible says, and because of what His Word says, we are assured He does hear Christians’ prayers (which encompasses all of our communication with God).

We will understand God gives “ear” to our needs according to His will and according to His own timing.

Where Does the Bible Say God Hears Us?

The Bible is God-breathed, meaning He inspired the writers to impart His exact words into the canon of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16).

When we read the Bible, we are reading God’s very words to us.

Therefore, any implication about God hearing the writers tells us He hears us.

In fact, one of His covenant names is Elohim Shama – The God who hears (Exodus 2:24; Psalm 139:1; Philippians 4:19; Hebrews 4:14-16).

Yes, He hears us.

What is Elohim Shama in Hebrew?

“Elohim Shama” is not an official name of God, it refers to the fact that God hears… He listens, He Hears.

Elohim Shama: The God who Listens, The God Who Hears

But He doesn’t merely hear our words; He is also moved by the unvoiced groanings of our hearts (Romans 8:26).

What does Shama means in the Bible?

to hear, to listen

Obedience in Hebrew is: shama (שָׁמַע). It means to hear, to listen, to give attention, to understand, to submit to, and to obey.

There is only one word in Hebrew for obedience, and it is this word – shama.

This Hebrew word is also generally translated as “hear”.

What does Jehovah Shammah mean?

“The Lord is There”

Jehovah-Shammah is found Ezekiel 48:35,

“The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles. And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The Lord is There.”

Jehovah-Shammah is the name of God that means I am the Lord who is there and is symbolic of Jerusalem. This name promises His presence.

The following short list cements the truth God hears us:

King David cried to the Lord in many psalms, and he knew God heard him.

Psalm 6:8-9 English Standard Version

8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
    for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.

Psalm 18:6-19 English Standard Version

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
    the foundations also of the mountains trembled
    and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,[a]
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down;
    thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
    thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
    hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
    and the Most High uttered his voice,
    hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
    he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
    and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
    at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high, he took me;
    he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
    and from those who hated me,
    for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
    but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
    he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

Psalm 19 English Standard Version

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice[b] goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,[c]
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules[d] of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors?
    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

The psalmist, Asaph, wrote a definitive and uncontestable verse which tells us God hears us, “I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me” (Psalm 77:1).

The Lord Jesus tells us He (God) hears us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

How Does God Hear Us?

We must remember God is wholly unlike any of His creation.

He does not “listen” as do we, for we cannot fathom all He is.

When we listen to someone, our minds are, more often than not, racing around in distraction, thinking about what’s for lunch, or how many minutes are left on my parking meter, silly things such as what some other person was thinking when they decided on a particular hair style.

We’d love it if our thoughts could be completely focused on our subject and what they are saying, but we often “aren’t there,” we miss important details.

For our mighty God, however, His listening skills are perfect.

We never need worry He is otherwise distracted, because in His infinite being, He “hears” perfectly, beyond our scope of comprehension.

God is Spirit (John 4:24); He has no physical nature that would include eyes, ears, etc.

Lest we get caught in theological details about God as Spirit, however, we need to understand how God “hears.”

Due to God’s sovereign condescension, He has graciously chosen to reveal Himself to us by speaking in ways that we can understand.

The Bible, therefore, uses anthropomorphic language to give us God’s revelation of Himself to humankind.

The immutable truth is God is incomprehensible, yet in His kindness has chosen to make Himself known in a way to which we can relate. God, in His omniscience, already knows everything, including what we will soon pray.

Because God has incommunicable attributes such as omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, etc., we are only able to comprehend Him via His communicable (moral) attributes and we were, created in His Image to reflect God in them, albeit not equally (only He is perfect in His moral attributes).

God “hears” us because of who He is and how He created us in His image.

Pastor and theologian R.C. Sproul adds,

“We are a composite being made up of body and spirit. We are spiritual yet finite humans; God is infinite Spirit who is not bound by a body.”

As far as God’s holy essence is completely different from His creation,

“God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change his mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19).

Yet God deigns to intervene in the works of man, to vividly reveal His love of us by the Scripture that speaks truthfully of how He hears our cries (Psalm 61:1).

What if I Don’t Feel Like God Hears Me?

We cannot expect God to answer us with an audible voice from heaven or with a “sign.” What we have is the Holy Scriptures, and from the Holy Spirit working in us through them, we “receive understanding, insight, and wisdom.” 

2 Peter 1:3 gives us great hope, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence.”

It is through the Bible we learn about the Lord Jesus and grow in His grace and knowledge. As we read and study God’s Word, we learn how He wants us to live, and our prayers and petitions will be guided by His Spirit based on His Word.

No matter our emotional state or physical circumstances, God listens, hears our cries to Him.

It’s true God always answers our prayers.

The answer is either, “yes,” “no,” or “wait.” We are, however, a people who desire and sometimes demand immediate answers, so waiting is very hard.

But as we wait for His answers, we are to occupy ourselves with kingdom work and with careful study of the Bible.

As we take the time to learn more of God’s Word, many answers to our prayers will become apparent, will be revealed to us by Holy Spirit, and we can act in a righteous manner because of how God has revealed His will through his Word.

So then, when God graciously and mercifully answers our prayers, the solutions will come through the study of His Word and/or godly counsel, wisdom, from a more mature believer who knows Scripture and daily strives to live a holy life.

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17).

Here we need to remember deliverance may come here, or not until heaven.

We can pray with confidence because God does hear us and He will respond.

We may think He is silent, but when we remember He speaks to us every day through His Word (Psalm 19, Hebrews 4:12), we know He isn’t being silent; we’re just looking for our answers to “materialize: in all those wrong places.

We aren’t to go to the Lord with demands, for when He hears us, He’s listening to see if we are coming before Him with hearts that are being sanctified as we attempt to live holy lives.

The Bible speaks of God’s omniscience, “Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows Him his counsel? Whom did He consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:13-14).

God knows what we will ask before it is even on our hearts (Psalm 139:4), and, more importantly, He knows what we need.

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

This passage tells us what to pray for, and it precedes the Disciples’ Prayer, which teaches us how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13).

How Should I Pray?

We saw above the Lord Jesus taught His disciples (we too as Christians are His disciples) how to pray.

The Apostle John later wrote, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15, emphasis added).

At first glance, it appears He will give us we want, but that’s not the case.

The key phrase is, according to His will. 

How do we know His will? By fearing God and keeping His commandments, which King Solomon said is the “whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

We know Him by His creation (general revelation) and by His Word (special revelation).

Nicodemus, learned from Jesus the only way to know His will is to become a Christian, grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus by immersing yourself in His Word, and surrounding yourself with godly people (the church).

John 3:1-8 English Standard Version

You Must Be Born Again

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus[a] by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again[b] he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[c] 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[d]  must be born again.’ 8 The wind[e] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Once we do all of that, we will come before the Lord with right motives and petitions, with patience as He hears, answers our prayers in His perfect time.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 4 Complete Jewish Bible

4 (0) For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David:

2 (1) O God, my vindicator!
Answer me when I call!
When I was distressed, you set me free;
now have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

3 (2) Men of rank, how long will you shame my honor,
love what is vain, chase after lies? (Selah)
4 (3) Understand that Adonai sets apart
the godly person for himself;
Adonai will hear when I call to him.
5 (4) You can be angry, but do not sin!
Think about this as you lie in bed,
and calm down. (Selah)
6 (5) Offer sacrifices rightly,
and put your trust in Adonai.

7 (6) Many ask, “Who can show us some good?”
Adonai, lift the light of your face over us!
8 (7) You have filled my heart with more joy
than all their grain and new wine.
9 (8) I will lie down and sleep in peace;
for, Adonai, you alone make me live securely.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Are We Believing the Promise That God Will Take Care of Us? How Can We Turn Adversity into Opportunity Like the Apostle Paul? Acts28:21-31

Acts 28:21-31 The Message

21-22 They said, “Nobody wrote warning us about you. And no one has shown up saying anything bad about you. But we would like very much to hear more. The only thing we know about this Christian sect is that nobody seems to have anything good to say about it.”

23 They agreed on a time. When the day arrived, they came back to his home with a number of their friends. Paul talked to them all day, from morning to evening, explaining everything involved in the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them all about Jesus by pointing out what Moses and the prophets had written about him.

24-27 Some of them were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe a word of it. When the unbelievers got cantankerous and started bickering with each other, Paul interrupted: “I have just one more thing to say to you. The Holy Spirit sure knew what he was talking about when he addressed our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet:

Go to this people and tell them this:
“You’re going to listen with your ears,
    but you won’t hear a word;
You’re going to stare with your eyes,
    but you won’t see a thing.
These people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
    so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
    so they won’t have to look,
    so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
    and let me heal them.”

28 “You’ve had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list. And believe me, they’re going to receive it with open arms!”

30-31 Paul lived for two years in his rented house. He welcomed everyone who came to visit. He urgently presented all matters of the kingdom of God. He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

GOD Will Take Care of Me? I Just Got Bit by a Poisonous Snake!

Yes! No! Maybe Maybe Not? I Doubt it! Not Worth Believing! Not Worth One Single Moment of My Time! You’ll Stop Talking and Just Keep Walking on By! Not on Any Day of the Week Which has a ‘Y’ at the End of it! Tell it to the Hand!

In moments of despair, depression, and disillusionment, we all need to take a cue from our brother Paul and shake it off. Literally, Paul shook the snake off him and didn’t suffer any effects from what should have been a lethal bite.

Friend, I’m gonna tell on myself and keep it real here: I am hardcore horrible at shaking things off and choosing to believe the best. But so I want to emphasize shaking off disillusionment is key to getting back up when life knocks us down.

And when we shake all of that slithering snake bit envenomated trash off us, we need not make ourselves, obligate ourselves, suffer any ill effects from it either.

Meaning, when you start spiraling into disillusionment, you have to first stop obsessing over the lie that you have been abandoned by God and shake it off.

But we have to be assertive, we have to be God seeking, ready to take things a step further, make sure the venom of catastrophizing isn’t lingering inside us.

Paul learned the hardcore way what we have to learn, too: when you make it through the storm and all hell breaks loose on the shore— when you’ve been through all and it still keeps coming— we’ve got to pick up our Bibles, read the Word of God, Pray and Pray some more. God will hear us and we shake! it! off!

Bad memories? Bad Experiences? Bad Judgement? Bad Choices? Bad Decisions? Bad Results! Catastrophic Results! Lingering Results! My Sin is ever before Me!

Who of humanity can actually, genuinely, truthfully claim they have not been there, done that, have one or two or 10 mega tons of hardcore hardened regret?

I Suggest Raise Up! Pray Up! Pound your chest right now and say, “Get off me!”

Nah, you didn’t do it.

By my own confession, personal experience; You didn’t say it out loud. You said it in our head, and that doesn’t count. Say it out loud so the whole of your soul is shaken, is stirred, you can hear yourself, feel yourself, making that declaration.

Say it again so you feel it in your soul.

Say it a third time so the devil and his demons start shaking!

The Bible gives no record of Paul screaming, running around, or freaking out.

Why?

I think it’s because he didn’t do any of that.

Paul knew he wasn’t going to die on Malta.

Paul didn’t make a scene because he knew Rome was waiting, Rome was where Paul would proclaim the gospel of the risen Messiah before Caesar himself.

Well, friend, I’m with Paul.

I’m not going to inflict more suffering upon myself die on my Malta, because my arrest, prison in Rome is waiting too. Paul told his crew in the middle of a storm, “This has to happen.” And I’m telling myself, “This has to happen” too. 

If you are shipwrecked and gasping, grasping for life, you’ve been on “Malta” trying to figure out why you’re there, I want to point you back to the who.

Who is in control of your life?

Who cares? Who loves you? Who gave you the vision or dream for your life?

I pray that you answered “God” to all of those questions, stand firm in the faith that has brought you this far. It’s time to shake off the disillusionment.

This action isn’t just for you.

It’s for everyone who is watching you too!

See, when Paul got bit by the snake, no one came around him to help.

Everyone stood there, watched to see what he would do or what would happen.

Child of God, people are watching you.

People are always going to be watching you and for you, to start that fatal walk.

People are waiting for you to lose it, to walk away, or to curl up and die. But look at you! You are still here, still surviving and steadfastly refusing to ever give up.

I’m standing up! I am putting my running shoes on and tying them tight. and giving God some praise because God is still here, you are going to shake it off.

Speed Dial God Pick, Pray, yourself up and get ready because Rome is waiting.

Do we know what to do in our own Malta?

If we find ourselves there, how should we live?

Remember, dear friend, Paul didn’t want to go to Malta either.

Visiting Malta was not at all in his plan.

And yet . . .

When a viper attacks Paul, the local islanders think he will die. But Paul shakes the snake off, and no harm comes to him. When Paul does not die, the people think he is a god. But no, Paul is not a god. He does represent God, however.

Paul is almost all the way to Rome, but the witness of God through him continues every step of the way. Paul is on Malta because of a storm and a shipwreck. Paul gathers kindling for bringing warmth. And God continues to take care of him in different ways. God also takes care of the people of Malta.

The chief official of the island opens his home to welcome the shipwrecked visitors. During this time, God heals the official’s sick father through Paul.

A single moment of recognizing opportunity, sharing hospitality, becomes the momentous setting to see God’s healing power, many others are healed also.

At first glance, we see Paul shipwrecked on an island, delayed for three months on his journey to Rome. But soon we can see that God has brought Paul and the others there to bring presence, assurance, healing and the good news of Jesus.

In addition, we see God taking care of Paul and the others by bringing them to Malta. But then we also see that God takes care of Malta by bringing Paul and the others there and we witness the testimony of the healed being sent forth!

And as they travel on to Rome, they meet other people and are welcomed and encouraged. Doors are kept open! God, the Disciples are visible, welcoming!

May we too take heart and learn from God this day.

May we the Body of Christ, His Church in the world, be people who look again and again to see our God who is always at work taking care of us and others.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 46 The Message

46 1-3 God is a safe place to hide,
    ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
    courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans,
    the tremors that shift mountains.

    Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

4-6 River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city,
    this sacred haunt of the Most High.
God lives here, the streets are safe,
    God at your service from crack of dawn.
Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,
    but Earth does anything he says.

7     Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
    He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
    breaks all the weapons across his knee.
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
    loving look at me, your High God,
    above politics, above everything.”

11     Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Never Forget 9/11! Never Forget God! Nor ever Forget the Lord’s Prayer: it is His Meaning behind the Powerful Phrase ‘For Thine Is the Kingdom’! Matthew 6:5-13

Matthew 6:5-13 King James Version

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

T0day, marks the 23rd anniversary of the attack against the United States known simply as 9/11. That day is a day that is ingrained into to each of us old enough to remember. Looking back, it is hard to believe 23 years have passed.

I recall hearing of the first tower being struck by a plane. At first it seemed it was a horrible accident. It was not even clear what type of plane it was, whose plane it was, was it Hollywood special effects, a preview of a new epic movie?

What is your story from that day?

Where were you on that day?

Where on earth or in Heaven Was GOD?

On that day, the death toll from the four commercial aircraft, the Pentagon, and the World Trade Towers totaled 2,996 with another 6,000 injured. That is not the whole story. Nearly 10,000 first responders and volunteers have since been diagnosed with cancers caused by the toxic fumes & dust. Quoting the USA Today newspaper, “By the end of 2018, many expect that more people will have died from their toxic exposure from 9/11 than were killed on that terrible day.”

I had questions……. If we are honest with ourselves, …I bet we all had questions following that day.

Why would a religion that was supposedly built upon peace, teach and demonstrate that much hate & violence towards others?

Do you recall all of the celebrating & parades shown from the Arab world?

…. More importantly to me, and my faith, Where was GOD during this? …. Why does GOD even allow such violent and murderous things like this to happen?

I was shocked. I was confused. I was hurt. I was crying I was angry, I was scared.

I didn’t know what was coming next.

An all out attack upon the United States?

Had somebody made a declaration of war against us?

Was God’s day of judgement coming and coming right quick?

I was questioning GOD….and I didn’t even know if it was alright to question GOD. For all I knew, GOD might strike me down just for challenging HIM.

After all, I just saw what happened on television and who knows any details, who knows how many people were just suddenly killed and severely injured?

Today, I’d like to share what I’ve discovered since.

Maybe this will help some of you as well. The first thing I have learned is that GOD, His Kingdom is definitely big enough to handle our stresses, questions.

He has a whole universe which He created. HE has broad shoulders. GOD is not petty. HE did not give up on me, even when I was close to giving up on HIM.

The second thing I learned was that I wasn’t even the first person to question GOD. In fact, the Bible offers several examples of this very thing.

In Psalm 10:1, the writer asks Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?

Jesus Himself asked this same question in Mathew 27:46 about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

The destruction of the Twin Towers was devastating to me, watching it over & over the collapse of the buildings, the billowing black clouds of smoke, the dead being carried out, the ash collecting upon cars and on the faces of those on site.

Your Kingdom Come

“This . . . is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. . . .’” —  Matthew 6:9-10

Most of us are confronted by many challenges – some simple others are not so simple but greatly challenge our faith, face many, many choices each day too.

On a daily basis, What clothes will I wear? What will I have for breakfast? What route will I take to work? What do I need at the store? Tasks will I focus on?

There is one choice, however, that is far more important than all the others: God, His Word’s on the matter before us and Prayer, Which kingdom will I serve? Where will I spend my best efforts—in the kingdom of God or in the kingdom or domain or country or community or family that I am dwelling in?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and Holy Spirit, where can I help, how can I serve, how can I support those around me, who need it most?

Jesus teaches us to pray, “Father . . . your kingdom come.”

As we pray these words, we are making a commitment to living God’s way.

“Your kingdom come” means, first of all, “Rule over me! Master my soul. Make me a loyal citizen of your kingdom.” It means, “Lord, rule in my life and master me in such a way that my deepest desire is to walk with you. May your principles and ways be the air that I breathe.”

“Your kingdom come” also means, “Help me to see your kingdom advance in the people around me—my family, friends, classmates, coworkers, and neighbors. Help me to foster a love for kingdom living in them as well.”

This also means seeing institutions and organizations abide, align with those principles of God’s kingdom. And as the Lord’s kingdom comes, is revealed and acts, any evil forces that revolt against him will be overwhelmed and shattered.

My Lord and Savior’s Prayer and My Life’s Prayer

Philippians 3:7-14 The Message

7-9 The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.

10-11 I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.

Focused on the Goal

12-14 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

I read where researchers in Europe went door to door, asking people about their belief in God. One question was this:

“Do you believe in a God who intervenes in human lives, who changes the course of history, and performs miracles?” A typical response to this question was “No, I don’t believe in that God. I believe in the ordinary God.”

I admit that it can be tempting to fall back in our faith, prefer “the ordinary God”—that is, a God who is there when I need him but who remains mostly quiet and who cares how distant in the background while I go about my life.

Fortunately the Scriptures do not let us settle with that notion of an ordinary God. The Jesus we meet in the New Testament entered our world, carried our burden of sin to the cross, bled, died in our place, and then rose from the dead and later ascended to rule with God in heaven. This is not any “ordinary God.”

The God of the Bible does in fact break into our lives in all kinds of surprising, beautiful, and disruptive ways.

John 3:16-18 The Message

16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

In fact, the one true God is beyond anyone’s broadest definition of the term extraordinary. And all of this is conveyed in this remarkable prayer of Paul:

“God, I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings” and then to experience that resurrection as well.

What a prayer!

How would my life, your life, our lives change if this became our life’s prayer?

What could happen if we all prayed this “Lord’s Prayer” this “my life’s prayer” for the people in my life, in your life and in all our fellow Body of Christ lives?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 32 The Message

32 Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—
    you get a fresh start,
    your slate’s wiped clean.

2 Count yourself lucky—
    God holds nothing against you
    and you’re holding nothing back from him.

3 When I kept it all inside,
    my bones turned to powder,
    my words became daylong groans.

4 The pressure never let up;
    all the juices of my life dried up.

5 Then I let it all out;
    I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.”

Suddenly the pressure was gone—
    my guilt dissolved,
    my sin disappeared.

6 These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;
    when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts
    we’ll be on high ground, untouched.

7 God’s my island hideaway,
    keeps danger far from the shore,
    throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.

8 Let me give you some good advice;
    I’m looking you in the eye
    and giving it to you straight:

9 “Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule
    that needs bit and bridle
    to stay on track.”

10 God-defiers are always in trouble;
    God-affirmers find themselves loved
    every time they turn around.

11 Celebrate God.
    Sing together—everyone!
    All you honest hearts, raise the roof!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Unshakable, Immovable, Unchanging Traits of God to Quell and Quiet Fear. Hebrews 13:8-14

Hebrews 13:8-14 Amplified Bible

8 Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be carried away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established and strengthened by grace and not by foods [rules of diet and ritualistic meals], which bring no benefit or spiritual growth to those who observe them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle (sacred tent) have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also suffered and died outside the [city] gate so that He might sanctify and set apart for God as holy the people [who believe] through [the shedding of] His own blood. 13 So, let us go out to Him outside the [a]camp, bearing His contempt [the disgrace and shame that He had to suffer]. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

When my world feels uncertain and my circumstances too overwhelming, I intentionally bolster my peace by reflecting upon the unchanging attributes of God. The more I extend myself to understand and contemplate who God is, in all of His great vastness, the less frightening my greatest challenges appear.

Scripture assures me He is alert to every danger, present in my crises, the inexhaustible source for all I need, more powerful than my greatest foe, and the Supreme Ruler who always retains full control.

What’s more, the Mighty Creator of all that ever has or ever will exist loves You and I with an indelibly perfect, fierce, and relentless love. To put it simply, the Commander of heaven’s armies, Yahweh Sabaoth in Hebrew, is f100% for us.

While numerous Bible passages reveal these truths, I find particular comfort in historical accounts that reveal God’s hand demonstrating these traits in action.

1. God Knows All

Numerous places in Scripture demonstrate what scholars refer to as God’s omniscience, His perfect knowledge of all things, past, present and future.

One example I’ve reflected on in uncomfortable seasons comes from Exodus 13.

This was immediately after the Lord rescued His people from 400 years of slavery and oppression in Egypt.

Verses 17-18 state, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.”

1 Samuel 9-10 provides another example of God’s perfect foreknowledge in the circumstances surrounding the anointing of ancient Israel’s second king.

This story begins when a man named Saul, along with a family servant, went in search of his father’s donkey.

After an extensive journey, he wanted to give up and return home, but his servant convinced him to visit “a man of God” in the nearby town (1 Sam. 9:6).

Meanwhile, God told this man, named Samuel, to expect someone “from the land of Benjamin,” whom he was to anoint as ruler. Saul appeared, as the Lord had said, and Samuel did as commanded. 

These passages remind me of two important truths.

First, God uses His wisdom for my benefit.

Second, I am usually oblivious to the dangers ahead. With these things in mind, I’m less apt to quickly respond to life’s apparent detours and delays with angst.

No matter what we encounter, we can trust that God has good, hope-filled plans for us (Jer. 29:11), ordained by Him before we took our first breath (Eph. 2:10). He has already forged our path, alert to our every challenge and mistake, and already accounted for each fork, obstacle, personal weakness on my road.

2. God Remains Close to His Children

One of the most obvious examples of God’s constant presence occurred during what scholars refer to as ancient Israel’s 40 long years of desert wanderings.

Once again, this was directly following their liberation from Egypt.

In Exodus 13:21-22 we read,

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”

God could’ve led His people in numerous ways. He could have whispered His guidance to Moses, their earthly leader. He could have instructed someone to give them a map designating their steps from Northern Africa to the Promised Land. Or, He could have simply instructed Moses through dreams and visions.

While He may indeed have done that, He also ensured that everyone in the group – from young to old – could visibly see His presence going before them.

This tells me that He wanted more than external obedience. The Lord wanted His people to know and trust Him. No doubt He understood how overwhelming their desert travels felt, and so He fed them, comforted them, with Himself.

At night, when anxious thoughts threatened to steal their sleep, they could look to the light emanating above them and rest assured the Lord was always near.

During the day, when the sandy expanse stretching before them elicited a sense of panic, they could once again glance up and know they weren’t ever alone.

Their Creator, Redeemer, and Provider would never leave.

He makes the same promise to us.

In Hebrews 13:5, we’re told that “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

Jesus spoke the same assurance in Matthew 28:20 when He said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

3. God Provides

When financial struggles come, my fear and anxiety tempts me to develop a survivalist mentality. This, in turn, drives me to hoard my resources rather than live with peace and generosity. When our income sources seem too unstable or unexpected bills flood our mailbox, I find solace in His unchanging faithfulness.

As Scripture proclaims, “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10), He “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45), and He “will meet all [our] needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

He is not and never will be limited by our circumstances, bank account, or ever-shifting economy.

My favorite biblical accounts of His abundance and care comes from 1 Kings 17.

During this time, an evil king named Ahab ruled Judah. He married a Sidonian princess named Jezebel and began to worship pagan deities (Baal and Asherah).

Because of their shared wicked behavior, God caused a devastating drought that extended throughout Judah and beyond to Sidon, Jezebel’s birthplace and the city that manufactured Baal idols.

The Lord told His prophet Elijah to “go at once” to a widow living there who would supply him with food.

God’s directive couldn’t have been more unexpected. Not only was He sending Elijah to a pagan land, but He was promising to provide through one of the most destitute people in the ancient world.

In 1 Kings 17:10-12, we read

“When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, ‘Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?’ As she was going to get it, he called, ‘And bring me, please, a piece of bread.’ ‘As surely as the Lord your God lives,’ she replied, ‘I don’t have any bread — only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it — and die.’

But Elijah knew God’s provisional power extended well beyond the meager staples this woman possessed.

Therefore, he said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do what you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘the jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land’” (1 Kings 17:13-14).

She did as Elijah asked, and God provided food for her, her family, and His prophet, just exactly as He’d promised.

Our Father can multiply our meager resources into abundance and withhold the figurative pestilence that might otherwise deplete them. He owns all, has power overall, and faithfully cares for all – us and our loved ones included.

4. God Holds All Authority

2 Chronicles 20 records a time when a vast army invaded the northern kingdom of Judah and was advancing toward the capital city of Jerusalem.

By the time the king, Jehoshaphat, learned of this, the enemies had already reached the vast oasis at En Gedi, a mere 30 miles away. Terrified, the king immediately sought the Lord, gathered his people, and declared a national fast.

He stood before them in front of the Temple courtyard and prayed, addressing the Lord as the God of their ancestors who resided in heaven and ruled over all kingdoms and nations.

At this point in history, most individuals believed deities ruled over, and were largely limited to, certain areas or city states. Whenever war broke out and one group of people prevailed against another, they assumed this also meant that their god had prevailed, thereby conquering and seizing the land.

But the Almighty had made it clear, way back when he liberated His people from Egypt and its numerous manmade “deities,” that He alone reigned over all of humanity. In his desperate prayer, King Jehoshaphat proclaimed this truth.

God wasn’t confined to one particular local or community.

The One who always had and always would remain with His people also existed in heaven, and therefor, above all. From there, He reigned over all, and no one and nothing could ever hope to overcome, withstand Him or thwart His plans.

In the events that followed, the Lord verified every word the king uttered when He alone defeated Judah’s attackers. The ancient Israelites didn’t have to raise an arrow or a sword. They’d faced their enemies, in faith, singing God’s praises, and He fought their battle and secured the victory.

This is as true to today as it was during the time of King Jehoshaphat. Our God is for us, and as Romans 8:31 states, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

1 Timothy 6:11-16 Amplified Bible

11 But as for you, [a]O man of God, flee from these things; aim at and pursue righteousness [true goodness, moral conformity to the character of God], godliness [the fear of God], faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith [in the conflict with evil]; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and [for which] you made the good confession [of faith] in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and [in the presence] of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession [in His testimony] before Pontius Pilate,  14 to keep all His precepts without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about in His own time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign [the absolute Ruler], the King of those who reign as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords, 16 He alone possesses immortality [absolute exemption from death], lives in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal power and  dominion! Amen.

Although our news channels tell us today’s leaders have the capacity to destroy the foundations upon which our country rests, Scripture assures us that our Savior always retains full control. May we consistently shift our focus off the world’s fearmongering and onto our loving, all-knowing, ever-present God of abundance who unquestionably reigns over all and will never be dethroned.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 46 The Message

46 1-3 God is a safe place to hide,
    ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
    courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans,
    the tremors that shift mountains.

    Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

4-6 River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city,
    this sacred haunt of the Most High.
God lives here, the streets are safe,
    God at your service from crack of dawn.
Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,
    but Earth does anything he says.

7     Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
    He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
    breaks all the weapons across his knee.
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
    loving look at me, your High God,
    above politics, above everything.”

11     Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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O’ What a Fellowship, O’ What a Joy Divine, O’ What a Prayer to Pray for; A Prayer to Be Welcoming at Church. Romans 15:3 – 13

Romans 15:1-13 The Message

15 1-2 Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”

3-6 That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!

7-13 So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it! Jesus, staying true to God’s purposes, reached out in a special way to the Jewish insiders so that the old ancestral promises would come true for them. As a result, the non-Jewish outsiders have been able to experience mercy and to show appreciation to God. Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do! For instance:

Then I’ll join outsiders in a hymn-sing;
I’ll sing to your name!

And this one:

Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together!

And again:

People of all nations, celebrate God!
All colors and races, give hearty praise!

And Isaiah’s word:

There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse,
    breaking through the earth and growing tree tall,
Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope!

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Each one of us needs to ask ourselves, “How can I help?”

Romans 15:7 Amplified Bible

7 Therefore, [continue to] accept and welcome one another, just as Christ has accepted and welcomed us to the glory of [our great] God.

Have you ever been invited into Christian community?

It is so refreshing to feel accepted and welcomed.

When people go out of their way to say hi, introduce themselves, and connect, it means a lot.

It can be easy over time when we reach out, become comfortable in our current community and neglect to see others who are nearby as well.

We can become routine in our church circles and forget the calling as Christians to love and welcome new people.

It is easy to do, and we all have to is pray, ask the Holy Spirit to check our hearts and reveal sin in our lives (Psalm 139:23-24). He will surely work His way into into our hearts, souls, convict and gently lead us to love others around us better.

I love how Romans 15:7 tells us to welcome others as Christ has welcomed us.

Jesus is always our example and role model.

We were sinners who He easily could have ignored but He chose to love us. We welcome others in Christ because He first welcomed us all for the glory of God.

It honors the Lord when we take the time to get to know others, love them well. We should pray for special thoughts as well to those who are different from us.

James 2 teaches us to show no partiality. We are called to show kindness to all others, and our friendship should automatically extend to a variety of people.

Matthew 22:36-39 says, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Loving God and loving people are the two greatest commandments. When we welcome others, we love them. The best part is that we can often end up making wonderful new friends, meet new families who could teach us more about God.

We were created to pray for each other, to encourage each other, welcome each other and to share our hardships with each other. This has to start somewhere.

Why not in the parking lots, at the accessibility ramp, at the steps and the front doors of our churches, with wide and wider smiles, with open hands extended?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let’s pray:

Psalm 134 The Message

134 1-3 Come, bless God,
    all you servants of God!
You priests of God, posted to the night watch
    in God’s shrine,
Lift your praising hands to the Holy Place,
    and bless God.
In turn, may God of Zion bless you—
    God who made heaven and earth!

My Dear Savior Jesus,

Thank You for the gift of community. Thank you for helping us by Your Spirit to get to know new faces and people around us we do not know. Help us to be motivated to seek out relationships with others in our church communities. We pray against the sinful decisions to isolate and ignore. We pray for confidence to reach out and love others with our words and actions. We confess where we have been too cliquey and selfish. Forgive us for making “our” churches and neglecting Your church. Help us to reach out and see You at work. Enable us to have open hearts. Please help us not to show partiality or favoritism. Help us remember that we are all one in Christ Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for welcoming us and helping us to live out of gratitude for Your hospitality. Open our hearts to have the willingness to get to know others as brothers and sisters. Open the door to new friendships that are founded on you and prayer. 

Lord, thank you for the people who have welcomed us into community. We celebrate Your goodness in providing friendships in our lives. Thank you for that one person who was kind enough to say hello. Empower us to meet one new person at church this week and even every week from here on out. Help us go the extra mile and get numbers or meet for coffee. Lead us into creative ways to have community. Lord, You say that everyone is not a hand and that being the body means there is great value in different parts. Help us to see that when we get to know others we get to be a better picture of what You intended for us to be. We were not meant to be alone; we were made for this. Help us to fight the enemy and our flesh that would tell us otherwise and choose to welcome others around us. Help this not to be an individual effort, but a church-wide movement to multiply and grow. In Your name, Jesus, Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Dance the Happy Dance of Salvation! Day and Night, God Always Sustains! Psalm 3:1-8

Psalm 3 Amplified Bible

Morning Prayer of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. When he fled from Absalom his son.

3 O Lord, how my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 
Many are saying of me,
“There is no help [no salvation] for him in God.” [a]Selah.

3 
But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory [and my honor], and the One who lifts my head.
4 
With my voice I was crying to the Lord,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
5 
I lay down and slept [safely];
I awakened, for the Lord sustains me.
6 
I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands
Who have set themselves against me all around.

7 
Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 
Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your blessing be upon Your people. Selah.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

If your relationship with Jesus doesn’t put a spring in your step and cause you to dance a happy dance once in awhile, maybe you’ve hit a spiritual funk?

Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your realization of how much Jesus loves you and exactly what you should be expecting from your relationship with God?

Sometimes we, and I say we as the church collectively, forget our salvation belongs to the Lord.

Far too often we want to defeat ourselves, beat ourselves up, work out our own situations and bring our own answers to the table. By doing so, our efforts fit our own agenda, personal narrative better, to the dilemma we may be facing.

The human will is powerful and our genuine willingness to try to work out our own truer answers without God’s help, only ends in the self deprecating, self defeating spiritual exhaustion, a frustration of our own inability and failure!

Re-read what David writes:

“Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! verse 1

Many are they who rise up against me. verse 1

Many are they who say of me, verse 2

“There is no help for him in God.” verse 2

Psalm 3:1-2 The Message

3 1-2 God! Look! Enemies past counting!
Enemies sprouting like mushrooms,
Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:
“Hah! No help for him from God!”

Not unlike David in his problem, we who are Christians today face similar situations. Our liberties, our morals, our values and our way of life as we know it are substantially threatened by those who mock, say, act as if there is no God!

The atmosphere created by what some want to call a new normal, a progressive normal, a socialist normal, is repeatedly trying to be established! Without God being any substantial part of it! Some say, get used to what we’re witnessing.

God would have me tell you, “things are not always as they appear to be!”

Matthew 6:4-13 The Message

2-4 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Pray with Simplicity

5 “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for fifteen minutes of fame! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

As in David’s time and in the moment as we watch history in the making, fear is still the primary propellant and pusher of the enemies agenda and plans today.

After all the different diversions of attack throughout history, the devil is still stuck with the same playbook of lies, being manipulate, steal, kill and destroy!

Only God has the ability to create new, only God knows what the future holds and only God wants you to have an abundant life! Only Jesus came to give life.

2 Timothy 1:4-7 The Message

To Be Bold with God’s Gifts

3-4 Every time I say your name in prayer—which is practically all the time—I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors. I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful good-bye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion.

5-7 That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.

Sometimes it’s far too easy for us to get caught up in the moment like David by the rise of circumstances and lose our focus of how big God is. When we focus exclusively on all our circumstances, the opportunity for fear not only raises its ugly head, but gains the confidence to become our primary center of attention!

Isaiah 55:11-13 The Message

8-11 “I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
    not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

12-13 “So you’ll go out in joy,
    you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade,
    bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession,
    exuberant with applause.
No more thistles, but giant sequoias,
    no more thorn bushes, but stately pines—
Monuments to me, to God,
    living and lasting evidence of God.”

Right there my friend proclaims the promise of our standing on Gods word!

Giving every believer the right to go through life doing the happy dance!

Gods word assures us He is willing to pull out all the stops in the removal of the burdens of life, if we let Him search our hearts, test us, to be a part of our lives!

If your relationship with Jesus doesn’t put a spring in your step and cause you to dance a happy dance once in awhile, just maybe you’ve hit a spiritual funk?

Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your realization of how much Jesus loves you and exactly what you should be expecting from your relationship with God?

God’s word is still the full truth and will always be looking for ways to prosper God’s people, establish joy for their lives and accomplishing the impossible!

Constantly searching for those who want to become aware of His Promises and are willing to believe, and 100% trust that “nothing is impossible for God!”

Fear is the opposite of faith!

Fear’s main driving force is self efforts lack of ability!

Faiths driving force is resting in the strength of Gods ability and the peace of mind stemming from it!

David had faced a similar situation of faith and fear we read of in

1 Samuel 30:1-7 The Message

David’s Strength Was in His God

30 1-3 Three days later, David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They tore Ziklag to pieces and then burned it down. They captured all the women, young and old. They didn’t kill anyone, but drove them like a herd of cattle. By the time David and his men entered the village, it had been burned to the ground, and their wives, sons, and daughters all taken prisoner.

4-6 David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him.

6-7 David strengthened himself with trust in his God. He ordered Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the Ephod so I can consult God.” Abiathar brought it to David.

There was definite fear that all was lost, by all of David’s men including David.

There was also a glimmer of hope, stemming from the God given faith they all possessed!

Remember these men were warriors of many battles and triumphs following David and his pursuit of becoming King of Israel! They had no doubt many miraculous displays of David’s walk, connection and relationship with God!

Many a lesser man would have contemplated a different strategy resulting in failure and possibly great loss of life, as faced with the same circumstances.

But David, didn’t look to his own ability.

David looked only to Gods amazing ability!

I’m sure there was talk among his men, saying something to the effect of look what doing the Lords work has gotten us!

The voices of those grew against David to the point of the talk of Stoning him!

TBS.

David strengthened himself in the Lord and God answered him with a victory over his adversary’s and the returning of everything that had been taken from him and his men!

David’s realization of his own humility, allowed God to fully work out an amazing end to what seemed a hopeless situation!

David chose to do same again, with complete reliance on God, as we read from verse three again of our text.

3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,

My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

4  I cried to the Lord with my voice,

And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah

5  I lay down and slept;

I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.

Selah, means to pause. David paused, or rested and strengthened himself in the amazing ability of God.

David could’ve been mad, he could have been thinking of retribution against Absalom. David could’ve been thinking a lot of things, but what he chose to be calm, do was rest and strengthen himself in what he knew to be his salvation.

David realized looking to God for his salvation, was what had sustained him every time he had ever faced any circumstance!

God had never let David down before!

His adversaries were too powerful and too numerous to count, but David remembered what God had helped him to be victorious over in the past!

David knew God had never let him down before and God would be willing to accomplish the impossible for him again, in the moment of his great needs!

Lions, bears, giants, adversaries, warriors, enemies, yes God had sustained David through each and every one!

Gods calling and anointing is without repentance!

Romans 11:29 The Message

A Complete Israel

25-29 I want to lay all this out on the table as clearly as I can, friends. This is complicated. It would be easy to misinterpret what’s going on and arrogantly assume that you’re royalty and they’re just rabble, out on their ears for good. But that’s not it at all. This hardness on the part of insider Israel toward God is temporary. Its effect is to open things up to all the outsiders so that we end up with a full house. Before it’s all over, there will be a complete Israel. As it is written,

A champion will stride down from the mountain of Zion;
    he’ll clean house in Jacob.
And this is my commitment to my people:
    removal of their sins.

From your point of view as you hear and embrace the good news of the Message, it looks like the Jews are God’s enemies. But looked at from the long-range perspective of God’s overall purpose, they remain God’s oldest friends. God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded.

Today because of God’s loving act of grace to the world, We look to Jesus and our connectional relationship with Savior Jesus for our sustaining salvation and promise of deliverance!

We have David’s example, to not look at our circumstance, but to the one who controls and determines the outcome of our circumstances!

Knowing when we humble ourselves and ask for God’s help, God hears and responds to our needs!

Reading on from verse seven

7 Arise, O Lord;

Save me, O my God!

For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;

You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.

Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

David calls on God to rescue him and bring salvation to the situation!

And then reflects on the times that God has rescued him and rescued Israel, and to seemingly have done the impossible time after time.

Asking for Gods blessing once again, and then pauses or rest in the assurance God will deliver!

Is it really that easy?

Under who’s ability?

Under mans ability, what David ask was impossible!

Under God’s ability, our requests really are that easy!

We repeatedly have the tendency to try making things for God harder than what they are!

Philippians 4:6-7 The Message

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Paul tells us, to let God know what we need and have faith God will meet the need and to rest in the peace that passes all understanding God supplies through Christ Jesus until the need is no longer a need!

There is no harder or easier for God!

God can do anything He wants, anytime He wants, for anyone who has the faith the size of the tiniest mustard seed, which God has also already miraculously has provided and is willing to believe God can meet the need!

We find our true identity in Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord, when we finally kick fear to the curb and take our rightful place of resting in Jesus willingness, to show us unmerited favor!

Have we earned it? No!

Are we worthy of such reward?

If Jesus is our Savior then yes we are worthy!

Because of the cross, Jesus has made us worthy and able to receive the Favor God freely offers to all!

The only thing there is no room for in a Christians life today and what we face in the never ending onslaught of condemnation and attack by the accuser, is fear!

Because fear triggers and is fuel for doubt and unbelief!

Whatever you’re facing today doesn’t matter, because nothing is out of the realm of the possibilities of the One True Living God!

Whether it’s an addiction, or a financial need, or a physical condition makes absolutely no difference! If you’re trusting the results and outcome of what you’re facing to God!

Don’t let the fear caused by the failure of self effort, keep you from receiving the miracle your seeking.

Put your mustard sized God given seed of faith in the God of all things possible and rest in God’s willingness to split your mountain in half while making those same mountains of adversity sing for joy, while the trees clap with thunderous applause, in the glorious midst of clearing the pathway to your victory!

Do you know how much God loves you today?

Jesus established on the cross amount of Gods love for you is immeasurable.

God willingly gave His very best, so you could live in, walk in and experience His very best, all along your way to eternity!

Aren’t you glad you know Him?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 The Message

23 1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my life.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Troubled Souls and the Glory of God; Our Praying When It Hurts. Psalm 6:3

Psalm 6 Easy-to-Read Version

To the director: With stringed instruments, on the sheminith. A song of David.

6 Lord, don’t punish me.
    Don’t correct me when you are so angry.
2 Lord, be kind to me.
    I am sick and weak.
Heal me, Lord!
    My bones are shaking.
3     I am trembling all over.
Lord, how long until you heal me?[a]
4 Lord, come back and make me strong again.
    Save me because you are so loyal and kind.
5 If I am dead, I cannot sing about you.
    Those in the grave don’t praise you.

6 Lord, I am so weak.
    I cried to you all night.
My pillow is soaked;
    my bed is dripping wet from my tears.
7 My enemies have caused me such sorrow
    that my eyes are worn out from crying.

8 Go away, you wicked people,
    because the Lord has heard my cries.
9 The Lord has heard my request for mercy.
The Lord has accepted my prayer.

10 All my enemies will be filled with fear and shame.
    They will be sorry when disgrace suddenly comes upon them.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Troubled Souls and the Glory of God

The wailing cry of anguish is the tone of Psalm 6.

The emotional expression in it reaches a fever pitch.

And yet here is the remarkable thing that we’re going to look at about this psalm: the motivating factor for David’s deliverance from the state of his troubled soul is not primarily comfort and reprieve.

What David’s troubled soul longed for the most was the glory of God.

Have you ever been so overwhelmed at the circumstances of your life that all you can do is curl up in the fetal position on your bed and cry?

I know we are trying to be the church and the sun is sometimes shining and then sometimes the dark clouds of an impending Category 5 storm are nearby.

Most of us are pretty strong looking on the outside today, but let’s not pretend or play games here.

For one reason or another, at one time or another – you’ve been there.

Completely in distress – whether it be from the consequences of your own sin, grief over the loss of a loved one, or guilt, or fear, or the utter inability to vent your anger, or debt, or danger.

Anguish in this life is universal.

If I dropped you in a remote part of the world where they spoke another language, you’d not need an interpreter to understand the wailing cry of anguish – it is pretty much a universally recognized, understood sound.

Someone somewhere is in a desperate state of needing immediate assistance.

So, we have David, somewhere in sometime of his life desperately calling out.

Psalm 6 The Message

6 1-2 Please, God, no more yelling,
    no more trips to the woodshed.
Treat me nice for a change;
    I’m so starved for affection.

2-3 Can’t you see I’m black-and-blue,
    beaten up badly in bones and soul?
God, how long will it take
    for you to let up?

4-5 Break in, God, and break up this fight;
    if you love me at all, get me out of here.
I’m no good to you dead, am I?
    I can’t sing in your choir if I’m buried in some tomb!

6-7 I’m tired of all this—so tired. My bed
    has been floating forty days and nights
On the flood of my tears.
    My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.
The sockets of my eyes are black holes;
    nearly blind, I squint and grope.

8-9 Get out of here, you Devil’s crew:
    at last God has heard my sobs.
My requests have all been granted,
    my prayers are answered.

10 Cowards, my enemies disappear.
Disgraced, they turn tail and run.

What was causing David this extreme trouble in his body and soul?

Some have wondered if he was ill because of the reference to his bones.

But as one commentator put it: “neither the reference to bones in agony nor the ambivalent word heal necessarily implies some sort of illness.

The agony of “my bones” means the same as “my soul is in anguish.”

The truth is… regardless of his state of health, there are two things that are certainly implied as background to the psalmist’s anguish.

The Primary One is his sin.

In verses 2 and 9 we see that he needs God’s mercy and in verse 1 we see that he fears God’s anger.

So David’s anguish is a compound anguish of his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of others.

A lot of you can testify from experience that both the guilt from our own sin and the ill-intended accusations of others can make us feel physically sick at times.

David had them both going on.

Interestingly – the malice of others appears to be God’s means of discipline for David’s sin.

Here in this psalm David does not cry out to God and ask him to withhold correction and discipline. Instead, because of David’s uneasy conscience he appeals to God’s grace to temper the discipline he knows he deserves.

David knows that his only plea…his only hope… is the mercy of God.

Our Praying When It Hurts

We’ve sung this song by Matt Redman called “Blessed Be Your Name.”

The first verse says,

Blessed Be Your Name, in the land that is plentiful, where Your streams of abundance flow. Blessed be Your name.

The 2nd verse starts out: Blessed be Your name, when the sun’s shining down on me, when the world’s ‘all as it should be.’ Blessed be Your name.

Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise!

But there are other lines in that song too – lines that deal with real life:

Blessed Be Your name when I’m found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering. Though there’s pain in the offering,

Blessed be Your name.

I love the honesty and validity of that song.

When everything in life is as it should be, prayer is easy.

It tends to be vague and general.

It rolls out of our mouths, and it doesn’t even have to come from very deep inside.

You know the prayer – the one you don’t really think about, but you’re supposed to pray out loud so you end up saying something like,

“God, thank You for this day and thank You for everything.” Really? It’s like tossing a hand grenade. It’s so unspecific, you’re bound to hit something!

But then there are prayers like the one where you say,

“God, whatever it takes to change my completely messed up life, just do it!”

There are prayers in the hard times.

There are prayers in the harder times.

There are prayers in the hardest times.

There are prayers in the most catastrophic of times.

Those prayers are all different.

Prayer in the hard times is more like an arrow shot straight for the mark.

We tend to get very specific.

We tend to speak more from our hearts.

Psalm 6 is a prayer that David fired off that’s more like an flaming arrow.

It was obviously written during one of his many hard times in his life:

Psalm 6

O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long? Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.

At first glance, David may just sound like someone who’s going through a devastating hardship in life.

“Well, forget Psalm 6!

This isn’t a happy Psalm!

Not by a longshot!

I want something a little more upbeat – something that isn’t written in a minor key! Let’s read something David wrote when life was peachy, sunshine, roses!”

But I want us to see there’s something for us to do in regards to praying in the hard times of life – something besides swallowing them, just ignoring them.

In other words, I want each of us to get more skilled at praying when it hurts.

I believe that this Psalm can help us with that.

First, it will help us to…

I. Get In Touch With the Reason for Sorrow

Why does David ask God to turn to him?

(verse 4) Where has God gone?

Why is David’s couch soaked with tears?

Look again at verse 1:

“O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.”

Rebuke…discipline.

David recognized that sizable part of the problem in his life were his own sins.

The fact is much of the sorrow we’re faced with in life is mostly our own doing.

Look at the faces of inmates down a row of prison cells and understand that our own wrong choices can bring us sorrow.

Look at the faces of the homeless aimlessly walking the streets or in a shelter. It grieves me greatly that nearly all of them go to great lengths to hide their face.

It can bring us sorrow because we don’t like the consequences: We don’t like traffic tickets, stitches, or being grounded by our parents when we are wrong.

Those things happen to us, with resolve, we suffer through them, and if we’ll be honest with ourselves, they’ll happen because we chose to do what was wrong.

1 Peter 4:15

“If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.”

1 Peter 4:15-16 The Message

14-16 If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. If they’re on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that’s a different matter. But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!

That’s not the only reason our sin makes us sorry.

There’s a very real form of suffering called guilt that David seems to speak of in this Psalm.

Most of us are familiar with that concept of Guilt.

Have you noticed; dogs have a unique way of looking guilty.

Now, scientists tell us that they don’t really “feel guilty.”

They just put on that face because it has a tendency to stop the yelling when you find out what they did.

We don’t like it, but the feeling of guilt is truthfully a good thing, if you’re a guilty person – and Romans 3:23 admonishes us that we are all guilty of sin.

Romans 3:23-24 Easy-to-Read Version

23 All have sinned and are not good enough to share God’s divine greatness. 24 They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.

It’s like the light on the car dashboard that comes on when there’s a problem.

Now, that red light on the dashboard may have been annoying – maybe even distressing – but it has a purpose.

It indicates that there’s a problem.

Driving on down the road absent addressing the problem could damage the car.

Guilt is that way.

That stressful feeling that you get when you lie, that nervous feeling you get when you see someone you’ve mistreated, that uneasiness that sweeps over you when you cheat someone – that feeling is guilt, and it’s a warning light that you have a problem, definitely something which needs to be fixed and forgiven too.

The answer isn’t to ignore it or run from it.

You need to get in touch with the reason for your sorrow, deal with the reason.

Guilty feelings shouldn’t be wasted!

They’re supposed to send us to God.

The way we get rid of them is for Him to take away our guilt, so that we don’t have to feel guilty anymore!

I love the passage in II Corinthians 7 where Paul talks about some of the strong words in a previous letter he wrote to them. Make a note Paul did not say God wants you happy. In fact, he says the opposite.

2 Corinthians 7:8-13 Easy-to-Read Version

8 Even if the letter I wrote you made you sad, I am not sorry I wrote it. I know that letter made you sad, and I was sorry for that. But it made you sad only for a short time. 9 Now I am happy, not because you were made sad, but because your sorrow made you decide to change. That is what God wanted, so you were not hurt by us in any way. 10 The kind of sorrow God wants makes people decide to change their lives. This leads them to salvation, and we cannot be sorry for that. But the kind of sorrow the world has will bring death. 11 You had the kind of sorrow God wanted you to have. Now see what that sorrow has brought you: It has made you very serious. It made you want to prove that you were not wrong. It made you angry and afraid. It made you want to see me. It made you care. It made you want the right thing to be done. You proved that you were not guilty in any part of that problem. 12 The main reason I wrote that letter was not because of the one who did the wrong or the one who was hurt. I wrote so that you would realize, before God, how very much you care for us. 13  And that is what was so encouraging to us.

When you are feeling sorrow, consider if you yourself are the reason for it.

If so, you have some Psalm 51 level of changing to do.

There’s another source of sorrow, though, and we don’t control it. It’s…

2. Other Peoples’ Sin

In verse 7 David says, “My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.”

Life has always had its share of sorrow caused by other people.

Someone steals your money, you suffer because of their theft.

Someone bullies you at school, you suffer because of their meanness.

Someone says something mean to you, you suffer because of their words.

Someone treats you rudely, you suffer because of their selfishness.

There are definitely times when our sorrow is caused by someone else’s sin.

Even diseases and natural disasters and death itself are a part of a creation that has been tainted by Adam and Eve’s sin – just because they beat me to it.

But even in the middle of all that unfair suffering that you didn’t cause, God is doing something with you. 

Hebrews 12:4-11

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons…God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.

Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been disciplined and trained by it.

Do you realize that when you suffer at the hand of someone else’s sin it’s an opportunity for God to grow you and mature you?

When we get in touch with the reason for sorrow in our life, we are far better equipped to handle it.

David’s Psalm here is an open study of the source of our sorrows.

It’s also a way that we can…

II. Restudy the Reasons We Can Ask for Help

From a very young age, our parents teach us that if we are ever lost or in trouble, and we find a sheriff or a policeman, you can go to him for help.

He will be a safe person, and he’s there to help you.

By the way, parents, I’m glad that’s still a good thing we can teach our children.

We can ask for help when someone is there to help us.

If I go to visit my doctor at her office, and I look at her medical school diploma on the wall, that’s a sign to me she’s someone who can help me with medical issues.

I find 3 reasons in this Psalm that reassure us that we can ask for God’s help in hard times.

The first one has to do with ourselves, and then the next 2 have to do with something that’s true about God.

Do you want to be able to ask God for help?

Then come to Him with…

1. A right heart

When David writes Psalm 6, he’s not only acknowledging that he needs help from God, he’s also acknowledging he needs forgiveness and mercy from God.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Being sorry for our sin – to the point where it causes us to mourn, is one of the first prerequisites for asking God for His help.

If you’re heart isn’t right in this matter, if you think you can ask God to help you feel better without ever wanting Him to change you, you’ve neglected to pay closest attention to the first reason you can ask God for help.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

If you can’t have genuine heartfelt regret for your sin against God, then you have no place to ask Him to help you with it.

I wonder how often we’ve failed to ask God’s help because, deep inside, we’re unwilling to deal with something in our lives that we know shouldn’t be there.

Satan somehow convinces us to hang onto it, and the result is we forfeit God’s help because we know we can’t ask for it.

Let it go!

Get rid of it.

Bring a heart to God that’s ready to be whatever He wants you to be, and you’ll find that you can ask Him for the help you need. That one is very much up to us.

2. God’s mercy

David was very open with God about his sin and his littleness. He said,

Psalm 51:4

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

So often we get frustrated that there isn’t more justice on the earth.

I’m pretty sure I don’t want to plead with God for justice for me.

What we need to appeal to is God’s mercy.

We need to be thanking Him daily He hasn’t dealt with us according to our sins.

I can tell you, there’s a whole lot more peace to be found in appealing to God’s mercy than trying to convince Him He owes me better than what I’m getting!

James 2:13b Mercy triumphs over judgment!

That’s a triumph I’d like to have.

(3. God’s glory)

A 3rd reason we can ask for God’s help is His glory. Actually, the basis for all true requests that we make to God is His glory. That’s the point of v5 “No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?” In other words, “Lord, if I’m killed off, there will be one less person on earth to bring you glory.” Someone put it this way, “Churchyards are silent places; the vaults of the sepulcher echo not with songs; Damp earth covers dumb mouths.”

Even though he was asking God for help, David realized that the reason he could do that was because he was seeking God’s glory. Think about that the next time you want to ask God for something. James said,

James 4:3

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Our lives need to be lived to bring glory to God.

You are not your own, you were bought with a price.

The reason for all true prayer is ultimately to bring God glory.

You can ask for help.

If you need some reassurance of that, Psalm 6 is a prayer of David, a man who had frequently, magnificently messed up, asking God for help! Does he get it? …

III. Look at the Difference Prayer Makes

David’s struggling through.

He realizes his own failings.

His enemies are pressing in.

He realizes he’s going to need to throw himself on God’s mercy, that there are some reasons he’s even able to do this at all.

David has been praying honestly before God.

Suddenly, in verse 8, there’s a change:

Psalm 6:8-10

Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

(1. Real repentance)

One of the ways you can tell if someone has truly changed from his former way of life is by the changed attitude he has toward sin.

In fact, that’s the main change in the life of anyone who accepts Jesus – your whole attitude toward sin. Someone who has repented of sin may still stumble, but that person will hate the sins that cost His Savior’s blood.

It will make you want to say, “Away from me, all you who do evil! Get it away from me!” Like Jesus, we have to cleanse the temple!

We have to throw out the money changers!

Look at the difference that prayer makes here in David’s words!

(2. Genuine Tears)

In other cultures, even though the language is quite different from English, there are some things that are universal.

One is the word, “Hey!” Another is a smile.

That’s the same everywhere.

Another one is tears. When you look into the eyes of someone who’s deeply suffering, there’s no need for an interpreter. Tears mean the same in every language. David knew that his tears were something God truly understood.

Psalm 56:8 Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll…

Too often we’re taught to hide our tears – especially if you’re a man.

Tears are an admission. Tears mean weakness. Tears mean dependence.

I want to tell you, the manliest of men ever to live cried real tears. John 11:35

And if we’re engaging in real, effective prayer, it’s going to involve some tears sometimes.

God isn’t turned off by that.

“…the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer…”

Genuine tears are a definite part of the picture here. And so is the last part!

In conclusion, Psalm 6:3 is a emotionally poignant expression of the psalmist’s very deepest anguish, loudest pleading with God and longing for deliverance.

This verse, along with the larger context of Psalm 6, offers a powerful reflection on human suffering, trust in God, and the timeless significance of lament. It too serves as a source of encouragement and comfort for believers, reminding them of God’s faithfulness, God’s mercy and compassion in the midst of life’s trials.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 The Message

16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God,
    I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
    Without you, nothing makes sense.

3 And these God-chosen lives all around—
    what splendid friends they make!

4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.
    Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
    like brand-names.

5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.
    And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
    And then you made me your heir!

7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
    is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
    I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.

9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
    and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
    that’s not my destination!

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
    all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
    I’m on the right way.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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For Christlike Living; “Be Alert And Pray in the Spirit on all Occasions.” Ephesians 6:13-20 (Verse 18)

Ephesians 6:13-20 The Message

13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

19-20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Warfare of any kind doesn’t normally involve just individuals; it engages whole communities. This is also true with spiritual warfare. In spiritual battle, we are to be righteously concerned not only for ourselves but for all of God’s people.

Christians need to have a global perspective of who is at the forefront of the spiritual battles with the forces of evil. It is not uncommon to pray for people who are ill, who are facing hardened times, or who live in an environment of persecution. Prayers for people in physical need can be heard in many places.

It is less common to pray for someone’s spiritual well-being. But in this world, as Paul puts it, “our struggle is … against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). And when spiritual warfare is a big part of our daily experience, it is very difficult for any of us to legitimately claim that we have a sense of well-being.

So we all need each other’s prayers always.

Praying in the Spirit for others is itself a faith-building exercise. It involves giving of ourselves for the benefit of others who are part of the body of Christ.

We may not know precisely the nature of the battle, or the piece of armor that is most needed in a situation, but we know of the struggle—and that is sufficient reason to pray. It is an unselfish and blessed thing to do. Praying this way is also an exercise in obedience because we’re each instructed to be intercessors for all.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

Ephesians 6:18-20Amplified Bible

18 With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all [a]God’s people. 19 And  pray  for me, that words may be given to me when I open my mouth, to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news [of salvation], 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. And pray that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly and courageously, as I should.

Prayer reveals three facts:

When we pray we recognize, first, the existence of an invisible kingdom.

We would never pray at all if we did not have some awareness that someone is listening, that there is behind the realm of visibility an invisible kingdom.

It is not far off in space somewhere; it is right here. It surrounds us on every side. We are constantly in touch with it, though we do not always recognize it.

It lies behind the façade of life, and all through the Scriptures are exhortations to take heed of this, reckon with it, deal with it, and acknowledge that it exists.

The second fact prayer reveals is that we Christians have assurance, confidence that the kingdom of God is immeasurably significant, that it affects our lives directly, that the visible things which are happening in our world are a direct result of something happening in the realm of invisibility. Therefore, if you and I want to change the visibilities, you and I must start with the invisibilities.

Third, our prayers play an essential part in bringing God’s invisible power to bear on visible life. God answers prayer. Prayer is purposeful and powerful; it is not pitiful and pathetic pleading with only a rare chance it might be answered.

No, it is powerful. God answers! Prayer is an essential link in the working of God in the world today. Without it he does not often work; with it, he certainly does.

These three facts are all revealed in the matter of prayer.

But we must immediately add God answers prayer according to his promises.

This is so necessary to say today, for there is a very vague but widespread concept that God answers any kind of prayer, that no matter what you want or why and when, where and how you ask for it, he commits himself to give it.

This, of course, results frequently in disappointments and gives rise to the widespread belief that prayer is ineffectual. The truth is, God answers every prayer which is exclusively based upon a promise of God and the Will of God.

1 Kings 3:6-14 Amplified Bible

Solomon’s Prayer

6 Then Solomon said, “You have shown Your servant David my father great lovingkindness, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and with uprightness of heart toward You; and You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, in that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.  7 So now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father; and as for me, I am but a little boy [[a]in wisdom and experience]; I do not know how to go out or come in [that is, how to conduct business as a king]. 8 Your servant is among Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So give Your servant an understanding mind  and a hearing heart [with which] to judge Your people, so that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge and rule this great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself a long life nor for wealth, nor for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize justice, 12 behold, I have done as you asked. I have given you a wise and discerning heart (mind), so that no one before you was your equal, nor shall anyone equal to you arise after you. 13 I have also given you what you have not asked, both wealth and honor, so that there will not be anyone equal to you among the kings, for all your days. 14 If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David [b]did, then I will lengthen your days.”

This is what Paul means by his reminder we are to pray at all times in the Spirit.

In the Spirit!

Many will take this phrase as though it describes the powerful emotions we should have whenever we pray.

They think it is necessary to be greatly moved before prayer can be effectual.

Now this is possible at times, but it isn’t essential to the effectiveness of prayer.

And it is certainly not what is meant by this phrase, in the Spirit. 

Praying in the Spirit means to pray according to the promises which the Spirit has given, and the character of God which the Holy Spirit has made known.

God has never promised to answer just any prayer, but he does promise to answer prayer in a way that he has already carefully outlined for each of us.

When you learn to pray on this basis, you and I will discover that exciting and unexpected things are constantly happening, and that there is a quiet but an indescribably mighty power busy at work upon which you can steadfastly rely.

As you and I learn to pray in this way, you find there is put at your disposal a tremendous weapon, a mighty power to influence your own life and the lives of others, especially as it relates to withstanding the hard attacks of the enemy.

Take some time to pick up your Bible and make a list of the promises of God.

How can those promises you identified will surely transform your prayer life?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 138 Amplified Bible

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.

138 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.
2 
I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word together with Your name.
3 
On the day I called, You answered me;
And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.

4 
All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord,
When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].
5 
Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts],
For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord.
6 
Though the Lord is exalted,
He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship];
But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.

7 
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 
The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me;
Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever—
Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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God, make a fresh start in me; put a fresh wind in my sails! I will let loose with your highest praise. Psalm 51:12

Psalm 51:7-15 The Message

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
    scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
    set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
    give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
    shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
    or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
    put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
    so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
    and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
    I’ll let loose with your praise.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

A Daily Prayer for Every Christian

Psalm 51:10-13 Complete Jewish Bible

10 (8) Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness,
so that the bones you crushed can rejoice.
11 (9) Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my crimes.

12 (10) Create in me a clean heart, God;
renew in me a resolute spirit.
13 (11) Don’t thrust me away from your presence,
don’t take your Ruach Kodesh away from me.

“It happened to me because I did not think it could happen to me.”

That’s what a homeless man said to me after getting involved in a relationship that almost destroyed his marriage, his children almost being taken from him.

Taking the “reasonably good” life he had made for himself and his family for granted, He never thought anything like that could, would, ever happen to him.

He’s not alone.

It’s easy to think we are immune to sin and temptation. Many of us go to church and try to live right. Sometimes we even shake our heads when others fall into sin, and more than one Christian has said, “That will never happen to me.”

But that’s when we become extremely vulnerable. Paul warns against that when he says, “Watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).

We would do well to make David’s prayer in verses 10-11 our daily prayer.

No matter how strong we might think we are or however good our intentions might be, in our own strength we are never going to be a match for Satan.

David was speaking from life long experienced when he prayed, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”

Take some time over the next few days to memorize that prayer, or write it out and put it on your refrigerator door or bathroom mirror. Pray it often. Only with God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit do we have the power to resist temptation.

In the face of sin and separation from God, grace is a refreshing stream that restores salvation. But the joy of salvation is found only when we realize and accept the forgiveness, grace, and restoration God has given us — when we drink from the stream of grace. The joy of salvation is sustained in a changed lifestyle, changed mindset, and an ongoing recognition that we walk with God.

Search Me, Investigate Me, Test Me, and Uphold Me

I believe that deep, abiding joy is largely missing in much of the church today.

I have heard Christians say, “We did not do enough when we had the chance, We prayed down a revival in our church, we did not give revival a real chance.”

Yet revival cannot happen by prayer alone. There cannot be any such awakening unless people hunger diligently for God’s Word. And they must wholly commit, sacrifice their lives to being guided and governed by the Scriptures. We cannot obtain heaven’s joy until the pure Word has convicted us of our backslidings.

When David was disobedient, he tried to hide it from everyone, he tried to cover it up and in doing so, all of his bones felt like they were crushed within him, he utterly lost the joy of the Lord, a joy would only be restored by true repentance.

David knew this, so he prayed, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. . . . Purge me” (Psalm 51:2–3, 7). David also prayed to regain what he had lost: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:12).

Ezra told the people rebuilding Jerusalem, in essence, “You have hungered so long for God’s Word and allowed it to work in your hearts. You have repented and mourned, and God is pleased. But now it is time to rejoice! Take out your handkerchiefs and wipe away your tears. It is a time for uncompromising joy!”

The glory of the Lord fell on Israel, and the people spent the next seven days rejoicing: “All the people went their way to eat, and to drink . . . and to make great mirth, because they understood the words that were declared unto them” (Nehemiah 8:12, KJV).

The Hebrew word for “mirth” here means “gladness, happiness.” This isn’t just a good feeling, but a deep, inner exuberance. It is clear to everyone around that this wellspring of uncompromising joy has only come from God in heaven.

When God’s Word is revered, the result is an outpouring of genuine “Jesus joy.”

Test Me, Cleanse Me, Uphold Me With A Willing Spirit

Psalm 51:7-13 Complete Jewish Bible

7 (5) True, I was born guilty,
was a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me.
8 (6) Still, you want truth in the inner person;
so make me know wisdom in my inmost heart.

9 (7) Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
10 (8) Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness,
so that the bones you crushed can rejoice.
11 (9) Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my crimes.

12 (10) Create in me a clean heart, God;
renew in me a resolute spirit.
13 (11) Don’t thrust me away from your presence,
don’t take your Ruach Kodesh away from me.

David’s request to be sustained (thoroughly supported) with a willing spirit (a heart quick and ready to respond) could be viewed as a culmination of the Lord creating in him a clean heart, giving him an unwavering spirit of obedience, not grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) and a restoration, renewal of his joy.

The Evidence of Being Sustained by the Lord with a Willing Spirit:

1. Remembering and rejoicing (vv.1-3) that the Lord:

  • Stooped down,
  • Drew the believer out of the pit of despair and destruction,
  • Gave a place to stand and a path that leads to flourishing, and
  • Gave a new song to the Lord of all mercy.

2. Understanding foundational truths:

  • Happy/blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord (whose ultimate confidence is in the Lord). Those who TRUST/DEPEND upon the Lord display trust by not turning to, or seeking counsel from, the self-sufficient proud or those who believe lies.
  • The Lord has multiplied our joys beyond measure and we continuously recount the tender mercies of the Lord (vv.5, 11).
  • The Lord delights in heart-felt obedience. We are to delight to do the will of the Lord with an open ear (receiving the Scripture) and treasuring the Word in our hearts.
  • We are to speak of his tender mercies, proclaiming the goodness/mercy of the Lord (vv. 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b). 

QUESTIONS:

1. How does the reality of verses 5 and 11 lead to an “unspeakable obligation” on the part of those who have received mercy?

2. What lies do we most readily believe in our current culture?

3. How do we speak of the mercies of the Lord (Malachi 3:16)?

4. To whom should you speak within the next two weeks regarding the mercies of Jesus in their life?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 32 Complete Jewish Bible

32 (0) By David. A maskil:

(1) How blessed are those whose offense is forgiven,
those whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed those to whom Adonai imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
because of my groaning all day long;
4 day and night your hand was heavy on me;
the sap in me dried up as in a summer drought. (Selah)

5 When I acknowledged my sin to you,
when I stopped concealing my guilt,
and said, “I will confess my offenses to Adonai”;
then you, you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Selah)

6 This is what everyone faithful should pray
at a time when you can be found.
Then, when the floodwaters are raging,
they will not reach to him.

7 You are a hiding-place for me,
you will keep me from distress;
you will surround me
with songs of deliverance. (Selah)

8 “I will instruct and teach you
in this way that you are to go;
I will give you counsel;
my eyes will be watching you.”

9 Don’t be like a horse or mule
that has no understanding,
that has to be curbed with bit and bridle,
or else it won’t come near you.

10 Many are the torments of the wicked,
but grace surrounds those who trust in Adonai.
11 Be glad in Adonai; rejoice, you righteous!
Shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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