Prayer Focus - Personal Transformation
Day 1
Pray for:
One thing that you would like to see improved in your relationship with God
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 79
"O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble...How long, O Lord, will You be angry forever? How long will Your jealousy burn like fire?..Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may Your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need...Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will praise You forever; from generation to generation we will recount Your praise." ( vs. 1, 5, 8, & 13)
God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed and His people taken into captivity. He allowed them to get into such a difficult situation that they were in desperate need. The Israelites were in captivity many times, often for such a long period that the original people that had sinned were long gone. This did not stop the latter generations from still reaping the consequences. This can be troubling to think about. In the Old Testament, there are long periods of silence from God when His people wondered where He was. In our lives, at times, we can feel the same. We face various trials from without and within. There can be issues with our health, our finances, our parenting, our marriage, our job or lack there of. Internal struggles can include grief, anger, bitterness, depression, guilt, obsessions, and worry. The list goes on and on. Struggles can endure for days, months, years. And we wonder, "God where are You? God do You even exist at all?"
Why? Why does God allow this? What can we learn from these times? There are many lessons in this, but they often run contrary to our modern culture, which sometimes makes them hard for us understand. We are people of sight. We are people of immediate gratification. We are people that deny there are consequences to our actions. Remember the slogan, "If it feels good, do it?" But life doesn't follow our culture. There are eternal truths we need to internalize if we are going to walk successfully through this life. The following are a few of them.
Day 1
Pray for:
One thing that you would like to see improved in your relationship with God
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 79
"O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble...How long, O Lord, will You be angry forever? How long will Your jealousy burn like fire?..Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may Your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need...Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will praise You forever; from generation to generation we will recount Your praise." ( vs. 1, 5, 8, & 13)
God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed and His people taken into captivity. He allowed them to get into such a difficult situation that they were in desperate need. The Israelites were in captivity many times, often for such a long period that the original people that had sinned were long gone. This did not stop the latter generations from still reaping the consequences. This can be troubling to think about. In the Old Testament, there are long periods of silence from God when His people wondered where He was. In our lives, at times, we can feel the same. We face various trials from without and within. There can be issues with our health, our finances, our parenting, our marriage, our job or lack there of. Internal struggles can include grief, anger, bitterness, depression, guilt, obsessions, and worry. The list goes on and on. Struggles can endure for days, months, years. And we wonder, "God where are You? God do You even exist at all?"
Why? Why does God allow this? What can we learn from these times? There are many lessons in this, but they often run contrary to our modern culture, which sometimes makes them hard for us understand. We are people of sight. We are people of immediate gratification. We are people that deny there are consequences to our actions. Remember the slogan, "If it feels good, do it?" But life doesn't follow our culture. There are eternal truths we need to internalize if we are going to walk successfully through this life. The following are a few of them.
First, there are consequences to every action. We don't want to believe this. We are so used to being rescued. I know when I was growing up, I was rescued many times in big and small ways by my parents. Although I know it was done in love, I think it might have been better off facing some consequences in my youth. As a result, I had to learn the hard way that no one comes to rescue you anymore when you are an adult. If you don't pay your bills, bad things happen, such as the lights get shut off. If you overspend, you have to pay it off. Also, there are laws that have to be obeyed and there are deadlines that can not be denied. We can't always talk our way out of something. How many of us were shocked when we began to realize this? And many times we are still fighting this very issue; arguing the consequences of our actions with a policeman that stopped us even though we know we were speeding. Bailing our children out when they procrastinate or get in trouble. Putting the blame on someone else rather than letting them or ourselves face what we really deserve. Thankfully, God is not like us. He sees the big picture. He knows the ultimate consequences of life and He is not afraid to let us face what we deserve or need to. He is the ultimate loving parent who is willing to let us face the hard lessons so that in the end we might live.
Secondly, we can learn that sin has far reaching consequences, not just in our own lives, but in the lives of those around us as well. Many times the Bible talks about the sins of the fathers (Ezekiel 18). We are not held responsible in the sense that we will die spiritually for what someone else does, such as our parents, but their sins will still impact us. Children and spouses' of alcoholics know the truth in this. Sin leaves scars that are often difficult to heal. Even sins we might consider less dramatic such as impatience and selfishness damage others. When we say careless and mean things in our anger, those around us will have to deal with the depth of that wound. Even if they forgive us, the words have gone out and can never be taken back. We often hear the echoes of cruel things that were said to us years later, try as we might to forget. The Bible states that we will be called to account for every careless word we speak (Matt 12:36-37). This verse is sobering to me as I know I have said many careless things in my life. It reminds me that we have to take our lives seriously because we do impact others for eternity, whether we want to or not.
Finally, the last lesson I will mention here is that God is still there in the silence, working away at the plan He has for our lives. In the silence of the Old Testament, God was working out His plan of salvation for not only Israel but for the whole world. We do not know why it took so long but it was worth the wait. The behind the scenes work of the universe is a bit beyond us, but it is good enough for me to know that someone who is able is back there working it out. As a child, most of us did not have to worry about the bills or the more complicated issues about what had to be done to provide for us. We trusted our parents and lived life. Think about all that went on behind the scenes to get us to adulthood. Even if our childhoods were not that good, there was work done on our behalf by many people. We will never know the full extent, but as we become parents, we get a glimpse of what it takes to raise a child and hopefully we have more mercy on our parents for all of their failings. It is so hard and although we try our best we fail so often. But God is the perfect parent and we can rest easy knowing that He is working behind the scenes to take care of what needs to be done to get us to our final destination. We need to be like that weaned child resting with its mother, confident in the safety she provides (Psalms 131). God is there. God does exist. All hard times eventually come to and end and that in itself is good.
Secondly, we can learn that sin has far reaching consequences, not just in our own lives, but in the lives of those around us as well. Many times the Bible talks about the sins of the fathers (Ezekiel 18). We are not held responsible in the sense that we will die spiritually for what someone else does, such as our parents, but their sins will still impact us. Children and spouses' of alcoholics know the truth in this. Sin leaves scars that are often difficult to heal. Even sins we might consider less dramatic such as impatience and selfishness damage others. When we say careless and mean things in our anger, those around us will have to deal with the depth of that wound. Even if they forgive us, the words have gone out and can never be taken back. We often hear the echoes of cruel things that were said to us years later, try as we might to forget. The Bible states that we will be called to account for every careless word we speak (Matt 12:36-37). This verse is sobering to me as I know I have said many careless things in my life. It reminds me that we have to take our lives seriously because we do impact others for eternity, whether we want to or not.
Finally, the last lesson I will mention here is that God is still there in the silence, working away at the plan He has for our lives. In the silence of the Old Testament, God was working out His plan of salvation for not only Israel but for the whole world. We do not know why it took so long but it was worth the wait. The behind the scenes work of the universe is a bit beyond us, but it is good enough for me to know that someone who is able is back there working it out. As a child, most of us did not have to worry about the bills or the more complicated issues about what had to be done to provide for us. We trusted our parents and lived life. Think about all that went on behind the scenes to get us to adulthood. Even if our childhoods were not that good, there was work done on our behalf by many people. We will never know the full extent, but as we become parents, we get a glimpse of what it takes to raise a child and hopefully we have more mercy on our parents for all of their failings. It is so hard and although we try our best we fail so often. But God is the perfect parent and we can rest easy knowing that He is working behind the scenes to take care of what needs to be done to get us to our final destination. We need to be like that weaned child resting with its mother, confident in the safety she provides (Psalms 131). God is there. God does exist. All hard times eventually come to and end and that in itself is good.
"My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore." Psalm 131
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
It is so hard to be like the weaned child. We have so many fears and it is so hard for us to just rest in You. Yet You are majestic and able. Forgive us for insulting Your power and goodness. We, as sinful humans, know how to give good gifts to our children. You are so much more. Thank You for thinking in the long term and for not always giving us what we want. Thank You for letting us go through the hard times so that we might in the long term make it to be with You in eternity. Help us to keep our eyes on the eternal and in the times of silence know that You are there. Just as the sun shines behind the clouds though we see it not, You shine through out the universe. We praise Your name.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I willing to face the consequences of my actions? Am I helping my children to face the consequences of their actions? How can I teach them this concept? How can I stop blaming others for my problems and start dealing more with my actions?
2. Am I dealing with any scars from the sins of those around me? How can I work on being healed?
3. Am I creating any scars? Are my sins affecting my children. spouse, significant other, roomate, etc.? How? What do I need to change and how can I?
4. Am I trying to control everything in my life? Am I filled with worry about all of the issues I face? Am I like the weaned child or like a unhappy child? How can I change? What will I do today to start trusting God more?
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