http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2056,120,140,141,142&version=NIV
Hi friends - sorry about the late post - doing a quick blog stand-in tonight about today's passage. It will be short, but worth it, I hope.
I always love it when I have a scripture in my head and then God puts it in front of me. I believe that is one way that he communicates to us. So, it would be my pleasure to share my thoughts with you about the following verse from today's reading:
"May my prayer be set before you liek incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice." - Psalm 141:2
This morning, as is my habit, I was praying for my friends, the sweet girls in my small group, and an amazing group of women that I pray with. Later on, I was thinking about what a priviledge it was to carry my friends and family to the throne of God through my prayers. And that's what reminded me of this verse - because I knew that God's word says that our prayers are like incense before God. It was cool to think about - that my prayers that morning rose before him like incense. My next thought was that I wanted to walk through my day in prayer so that they continued to rise before God as a pleasing aroma.
Which, brings me to the second thought - a lesson learned in Portugal. I went on a mission trip to Lisbon, Portugal year before last. We did a lot of walking through neighborhoods, talking to people, and helping them determine where to do church plants. Our routine was that we would walk our assigned neighborhood when we arrived their and just pray - for the Spirit to go before us, for an awareness of opportunities to witness, for the people who lived there, etc. The biggest take-home lesson from this trip was how one can walk through their day in prayer. And since then I love to do that (although I certainly don't do it all the time and wish I did). But the best days at work are when I walk down the hall and pray for our students or the teachers as I pass by their doors, or for my friends, family, etc. who are on my heart.
Friends - God's truth says that our prayers rise before God like incense. What an amazing picture that is. I pray that we all learn to walk through our days in prayer and in full confidence that our prayers are rising before the throne of God. They are incense to him and bring him great pleasure - pleasure because they are an expression of our faith in him. Pleasure because they show a desire to communicate all day with him and he desire that intimacy with us. Pleasure because his glory is revealed in answers to prayers. Approach the throne of Grace with confidence!
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Lonely, forgotten, no one cares? You wait on a phone call or txt message that never comes. This can be very depressing. This is why I love these verses:
ReplyDelete142:4,5
For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul. I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living
God has not forgotten us, His ear is always open to our cries and He will never forsake us in this life. We always have a friend in Jesus. This always brings hope and comfort back to my soul in times of despair or when people let me down. Yes, David often started off his psalms in a down and out mood but by the time the psalm ends, he is singing praises to Lord.