Category: prayer

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Deuteronomy 32-34, Ps 91 Prayer to God 

Prayers of the Saints

How do you begin your prayer time? Moses shares with us how he begins: “Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.”  We too pray, open the eyes of our hearts Lord, we want to see you. Open our ears so we can hear your Spirit speaking. Open our minds so we can comprehend the Truth, the Life and the Way of your Precious Son Jesus. Now Moses continues: “For I proclaim the name of the Lord; Ascribe greatness to our God!” Are we proclaiming God’s Name for ourselves and others? 

In addition we too should extol the greatness of our God because it brings sweetness to Him from us. As we pray, Holy Spirit bring to our minds those attributes of God as a way to praise Him. “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.”

Today in your prayer time may you share these thoughts with Him as well as with another. 

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Psalm 90 Blessings

Nehemiah's epitaph

In his quiet time, Moses prayed to the Lord; “The days of our lives add up to 70 years, or 80, if one is especially strong.” And yet Moses lived well beyond that! In fact, he lived to be 120! “Assuming Moses did write this psalm it is interesting that he said the normal human life span was 70 years. He lived to be 120, Aaron was 123 when he died, and Joshua died at 110. Their long lives testify to God’s faithfulness in providing long lives to the godly as He promised under the Mosaic Covenant.” [Dr. C notes] 

It is important to remember this principle as we age and to praise God for the length of our years. God knows the end but we are to be faithful until that time. How are you living today? Are you praising God for the years that He has given you and are you busy about His business as Moses was? 

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Numbers 7 God Speaks

Be still and listen

Moses recounts his interaction with God with this famous verse: “Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the atonement lid that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. Thus he spoke to him.” [Num 7:89]

The fact that Moses heard God’s voice speaking to him from the most holy place indicates God’s acceptance of these gifts (v. 89). Moses, as the representative of the nation, and God enjoyed a close relationship because of this sacrifice of worship. This is not the first time God spoke audibly to Moses, but it is the first time when God spoke to Moses from above the atonement lid. As we continue our reading we will find that Moses recorded the words of God in the next chapter.

Have you heard God speak? He now speaks through the written Word and the Holy Spirit. Sit quietly and listen for His still, small voice. The Apostle John wrote, “Joh 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Are we listening for His voice?

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Numbers 6 The Blessing

God gave Moses the prayer of blessing that Aaron was to pray over the people:

“The Lord bless you and protect you, The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” 

This is a marvelous prayer for the people and as Aaron was to pray this we imagine his heart was yearning for that blessing for himself and the people. There are three parts to this prayer: 1. May the Lord bless and protect you as you go in and go out. Carry these words to your heart so you remember that it is God who blesses. It is God who protects.  2. The character of God is in the second section. When we are in His will and obedient, we can count on God to shine His protective love over us and His graciousness will be upon us. 3. The Lord will lift, will shine over you as you live for Him and His countenance or His presence and His power will be showered upon the people. 

Today stop and pray this for yourself and your loved ones and your church. 

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Genesis 25-26 Trust…or…Fear

Are you fearful and if so of what?

Two times in these chapters we read that God blessed Isaac because of the obedience of his father Abraham. This is a principle that God has revealed: children are blessed because of the obedience and faithfulness of their parents. 

Yet, Isaac had a failure just as Abraham in that he did not trust God to protect his wife, but instead lied about his relationship with her. But, just as Numbers tells us , if we sin, God will reveal it loud and clear which is exactly what happened to Isaac. [Num 32:23] Both Abraham and Isaac had one glaring failure which the book of Proverbs tells us: The fear of man is a snare but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted. [Prov29:25]

So why did God bless Abraham and Isaac? God clearly points out that He hates lying in Proverbs 6 and in other places we see the fruit of lies like in the account of Gehazi where God pronounced leprosy on him. These are those issues that we find frustrating but when that happens and we don’t have clear cut answers, we need to remember Isaiah 55:8-9. His ways are higher and more superior to ours. 

God has His plans and even though we may not understand, we can trust that His way is the right and true way. Where is God calling you to trust Him today and tomorrow and the next day? 

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Job 38-39 God’s ways are unknowable to men

Praising God

After 37 chapters in which Job has sought to defend himself against all the cries of his friends that he is a sinner, Job finally has his audience with the Lord God Almighty. God challenges Job to rethink his assessment of his questions and instead, God presents the case for Him as creator of all that lives and moves about the earth. These chapters remind us of the words of Isaiah: “Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds,” says the Lord, “for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.” [Is 55:8-9] 

When we think we want an audience with the Lord, it would be wise to consider that God is Creator, He is Master, He is LORD! He knows the ways of men and He alone is offering Himself to each one that they might consider who they are in the realm of all that is and will be. Look about the world as you see it and experience it through His eyes and stop and praise Him for He is great and greatly to be praised. 

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12.5.24. A King’s Prayer

Let God handle this
Trust God!

Today as I in the past, we are a people that often face turmoil and distress of various things that come across our path. We are a people who feel lost and at times feel like we are alone. Yet, in the midst of this we have this promise: He who owns the cattle on a thousand hills is the author of our faith and He has the gift of mercy. Again we see the heart of David in his prayer as our example: I pour out my lament before him, I tell him about my troubles.

Psalm 142 David’s Prayer

To the Lord I cry out, to the Lord I plead for mercy

When you are in a “mess” is this how you face it? Do you cry out to the Lord? Do you plead for His mercy? King David has given us his prayers that we may know that he is a man just like us. In times of distress, David has gone to the throne of God to seek His face and His mercy. Can you hear his lament? Can you sympathize with him and want to help? 

What trouble are you facing? Are you carrying this trouble to the Lord? Beloved, just as David found peace in the storm you can also for this is true: Even when my strength leaves me, you watch my footsteps.

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11.30.24. God’s ways are not our ways

Why God?

Psalm 137 Singing

We sing the songs of our Christian faith often as a reminder of what God has done for us in the past and how to look forward to the future. However, as this psalm reminds us, often when an enemy captures people groups, their songs have been left behind like a treasure that is kept sealed. Yet, Paul and Silas did not allow that circumstance to direct their hearts but they sang and the prison doors were opened. The psalmist captures this scene of the captives of Jerusalem in Babylon who are unable to sing. What was the difference? After marching over many a mile, as if it were not enough, the Babylonians wanted them to amuse them. As it was true then, it is so today in lands far away where Christians are secluded in prison cells. If that were you or I, would we sing to amuse our captors? Would we sing in our hearts or with voices? 

So what are we to glean from the psalmist’s words? First, it is important to remember who we are and whose people we are lest we forget Jerusalem or our land. Secondly, we should recall that God’s ways are higher than ours. Habakkuk had also voiced his frustration that God had allowed their enemies to make sport of them much like a bully.  Thirdly, take a page out of this psalm to see how no matter where we are, we are to give praise to God and offer our prayers seeking God’s answers and peace in the storm. 

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10.4.24. Do not fall for Satan’s Tricks!

2 Cor 4 Discouraged? NO! 

A magician has his bag of tricks, Satan his bag of the deadly d’s. One his tools in his bag is seeking to undermine the work of Christ by discouragement.  Maybe your discouragement has come because of fear or of lack of progress in your spiritual walk. Whatever it is,know the true source of discouragement is from the enemy. Perhaps it might be good to stop and just read those few words Paul penned where he noted the reason he was not discouraged was because God had shown him mercy beyond all that he could think of. He had been a persecutor of the early church and as he thought back he could recall the scenes of going house to house, dragging believers to the places of punishment. But, God in His way, and in His time, chose to reveal Himself to Paul on the Damascus road and turn him 180 degrees around to become not a persecutor but a proclaimer. 

Now Paul stops to reflect on his work of presenting the gospel. Just as he was gifted with mercy that was undeserved, so he saw the unsaved in need of such a gift. He was well aware of the work of the enemy, Satan. “among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God.” [2 Cor 4:4] Thus he knew that they, like he, may be discouraged but needed to hear the truth and return that tool back to Satan’s bag of tricks. 

Precious reader, do not become discouraged. Reflect on the gift of mercy you have received and go forth to present the gospel message. 

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How to disagree with others…

How do you sound today

1 Cor 8 Important or not?

Have you ever been in a discussion with someone who then argues that you are saying is unimportant? Sparks fly and tempers range. One is right and one is wrong but neither will admit to it. Thus,it was in the church in Corinth. Paul had spent much of his ministry there only to have to quell disagreements. One said knowledge was the most important thing. Get knowledge! Paul conceded that yes knowledge was important, but the greater is love for fellow Christians. If you lack this you are just a gonging cymbal. John also spoke to that in his letters to his flock and others. He said that we prove our knowledge by how we love others. If that is lacking, we really have no knowledge of God and His Son. 

In Corinth, the argument raged over the meat sacrificed to idols. Some said we should ask and then decide whether to eat or not. Others said, that is the unimportant issue because idols are nothing anyway. They chose to agree to disagree. Yet, they also chose to not love the brethren with whom they were in disagreement. Beloved, this should not be! Paul reminded them of this principle: “you sin against your brothers or sisters in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ” So what is really the important issue here? It is to love others as Christ loved the church and deal with issues in love. 

How are you faring in this department beloved when you are in a discussion with other believers? 

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