Prayer Journal for October 29, 2011

In Psalm 139 its a reminder that all of who we are is made from God and that we cannot escape from Him no matter how hard we try. We are in the presence of him from the very moment we are being formed and in all the days of our life. God’s creation is a great thing and he formed us wonderfully as the verse says. To Him we are his children who he will forgive us, love us, protect us and nurture us. The verse says that he knows every thought we have and we cannot hide from him. Perhaps we should find comfort in knowing God knows all, sees all and no matter what we do He still loves us. He wants us to rely upon him and know we are going to be alright.

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Prayer Journal, October 27 – Part Two

In Matthew 6:6 it says But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Wow, talking about a tough one to do…I seem to have stuff in my head all the time. God is all powerful but I wonder if he can squeeze himself into my thoughts sometimes. Like most folks of these days I find myself with a head full of mush and I don’t always welcome God in. Being quiet is kind of hard for me. I do the best I can but sometimes I find myself not always listening and being still. Psalm 46:10 says to be still and know I am God and that is something I would so love to do. I can’t stand the silence in a room at times, I have to fill it. I have made attempts to “be still” but have failed. Its tough when you have things that are not always about God floating around in your noggin. I need to find more time for quiet reflection and peace. God I pray you will help me with this. You are always trying to talk to me but I don’t always listen or respond. They say “silence is golden” and perhaps the greatest treasures God is trying to give me is wisdom from him that I am not getting. Even my blogging seems to be about me and less about him. Wow that could be a start of something big. Lets see where this goes.

Prayer Journal, October 27, 2011

In Micah 6:8 it says He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? From this verse its a call for everyone to a behavior that will help you be in fellowship and partnership with God. Is also a reflection of our obedience to doing what God wants us to do. We are to treat people well, love people well and go with God with humility. All these are characteristics that I need to strive for but don’t always achieve. I think God and I were good while I was sharing news about things at church. At work doing the job given to me is a way I worked with and for him. He is my ultimate supervisor in all things. Many days I am about getting by and trying to stay ahead. This is an exercise in faith that requires me to rely upon him for the good and the bad things. Sometimes being in concert with God is a tall order. I do it well in Church and try to do it well outside the walls of God’s house. I think God wants more of me and unfortunately that doesn’t always happen. Perhaps fellowship with God needs more priority and not just in worship or Sunday school or anything else that is happening in my faith community. Perhaps doing what I am doing now is what he wants more of. Expression of my soul and letting him see in words what is in my heart. Stopping the onslaught of media perhaps is what I need at times.

Thanking God For His Creation

Psalm 148 is about how God’s creation longs to praise him, to pray to him, to adore him. From everything in nature to kings and royalty, the young and the old longs to praise the one who created it all. Everything that God made wants to share its adoration to the one who made this life for us possible. In the hymn “All Creatures of our God and King” its a song that is a call to God’s creation to worship and praise him with humbleness. Its a powerful testimony as to how this grand designer and maker of heaven’s and Earth just spoke and everything came into existence. The verse in Psalm 148 is kind of a rundown of how the creation story came about in Genesis and later in 1^st John 1. It’s also a commitment to his people that he will sustain his creation as well. This is a commandment to us all to praise him wherever we throughout all eternity. Praising God and thanking him for his remarkable creation including us is a good thing.

Some Thoughts on Prayer

There are different prayers for different situations. Petition, mercy, guidance, courage, strength and wisdom are common themes for prayer. We all have wanted something in our lives. Mercy or forgiveness in situations of sin and falling short are common prayers. Having the words to guide our actions are always needed. Being brave is easy when we know we can to the Lord for courage and strength during times of distress and uncertainty. Knowing what to do is always a challenge so we go to God for wisdom. It seems that there are always times in our lives where there is a unique need for God to come to the rescue or at least to see us through a trial that he wants us to face. Prayer is a way for us come to Him and to have a relationship with him. We should never want to make our communications with God all about what we want. As in the Garden when Jesus was asking for a way out of his destination to the cross God had to comfort his child. When Jacob was trying to save Sodom and Gomorrah he asked for mercy for others. Sometimes we just need to silence ourselves so God can get a word in edge wise.