Some thoughts on Prayer

The Lord has been showing me in a fresh way the importance of prayer motivated primarily by His magnificence--He is worthy to be sought. He has also been revealing to me in a fresh way that I am needy and that is another very good reason to pray. This morning as I was ready Psalm 5 I was encouraged by verse 3--"In the morning O Lord, You will hear my voice. In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch." The Psalmist was feeling the press of his enemies--he was acutely aware of his neediness and so he turned to the Lord who is worthy to be sought and able to save. Not that the Lord only hears prayers offered in the morning, but it seems that prayer was one of the first things the Psalmist did as he got up in the morning. A wonderful picture of dependence. I wonder what it is like for most of us in the morning. If we are not being pressed in by enemies do we arise with an acute awareness that we are NEEDY? Do we rise up with a gripping sense that God is WORTHY? The amazing thing is that whether or not we realize our Need and His Worth both are absolutely true. I'm absolutely unable in my own power to lead the congregation I serve, to love my wife as God calls me to, to parent our children with grace and wisdom, to make wise decisions, to impact others for the kingdom, to be conformed to His image, or to do anything of consequence for the Lord apart from His powerful and gracious work in my life. Paul reminds us, "Not that we are adequate in and of ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is in Christ" (Col.3:5). How utterly arrogant for any of us to begin the day except with prayer, with a humbling of ourselves seeking God's grace and power to live each day for Him. Then there is the fact that God is worthy--whether any of us is conscious of that fact or not. Whenever we are given a glimpse of God in His Heavenly Glory (Ezekiel 1, 10; Revelation 4,5)the posture and proclamation of the angelic beings in His presence is instructive--They are hiding their faces and declaring His praises. Pondering all of these things makes Psalm 5:3 come alive to me, it becomes my desire to come to the Lord in the morning and pray and then "eagerly watch" for Him to work. One of the prayers that the Psalmist offered early in the morning is recorded in verse 8--"O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me." Now there is a powerful prayer for any believer to bring to the throne of Grace. I want to be lead in His righteousness. As opposition mounts I want to walk in His ways because it is so easy to default into wickedness. I want the Lord to "make His way straight before me." It seems reasonable to me that every Child of God wants to know clearly the direction God is steering us--How to respond to those in opposition, what ministries to be involved with, how to discipline the children, what business decisions will honor Him. Let us order our prayers to Him in the morning and "eagerly watch."

Have a Blessed Day