Greetings to you – loved, forgiven, anointed, and empowered in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ -THE Risen Savior! What an awesome winter’s morning…okay, everyone groan before you read the next sentence. Now please repeat after me…”This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!” – obviously an exercise in faith! I trust that you had a good weekend and Monday with a few blessings and unexpected delights. I hope you are taking time to keep connected with your family and friends – these are times when it is extremely important not to isolate ourselves. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to release signs and wonders into your life that affirm His presence…may you experience healing, strength, and mercy in personal ways.
Have you ever had one of those moments when you reading a familiar passage from your Bible and have discovered a word or phrase that though you must have read many times before seems to be a brand new discovery? Well, I had one of those moments this morning. The Psalmist makes this statement: In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly … Every morning you’ll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend … At each and every sunrise you will hear my voice as I prepare my sacrifice of prayer to you. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the lay and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart. – Psalm 5:3 NIV / The Message / The Passion Translation.
The Psalmist, David, the man after God’s own heart, the Shepherd, the King – prayed every morning. David, who failed in so many areas of his life, who sinned so greatly, who received such great consequences from God…prayed every morning. I must confess that I had not noticed that before, or at least did not consider the significance of it. Interestingly enough, early morning prayer was part of Jesus’ routine – Mark 1:35 / Luke 22:39.
And if that wasn’t enough, I discovered that in the posture and practice of prayer, David “waited expectantly” – “watched for fire to descend” – “waited for the fire to descend”. David did not just have his prayer time and rush back into his routine…he believed that something significant was going to happen…God was going to answer prayers immediately. Imagine having a prayer time expecting and waiting for the fire to fall. I think Psalm 5:3 has just made its way in my top 50 or so favorite verses. This discovery, of course, conjures up an old chorus we used to sing…Meet my need, Lord-Meet my need, Lord-Meet my need-I am waiting and Thou art coming-To meet my need just now! I suppose the lesson is – if I don’t expect an answer – why am I praying?
Just a little something to ponder – be blessed!