Father, You looked down on the people You created, and what a disappointment! You saw them in their “sinful greed” and “willful ways”. Even when they sought You with fasting, it was not in earnest. And was not acceptable to You. You told them how to behave to be blessed. Yet they still did not respond as You had instructed.
Their sin separated them from You. And so You achieved salvation for them by Yourself. “As for Me, this is My covenant with them, says The Lord. My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and My Words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips…from this time on and forever, says The Lord.”
Father, I wonder how I disappoint You when You look at me. I so often think of my own needs and wants before others, and I want things my own way. That sounds a lot like ‘sinful greed’ and ‘willful ways’. But because I am Yours, I have Your Spirit in me, and I have Your Word. The Scriptures tell me how to live, and the Spirit prompts me in the right direction, even when I stray. I am thankful that You do not give up on me.
You have been with me since my youth, giving me hope and confidence; helping me when I needed help, rescuing me when I needed saving. Now, “deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.” As I face things that seek to pull me away from the path of righteousness, my emotions are strained, my good intentions eroded, and my character taxed. But I am “confident of this, that He who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
It is You, Father, Your power that will work in me and through me to enable me to achieve all You have purposed for me. So rather than focus on my troubles, I chose to focus on You! I believe Your Word and I trust Your Spirit. Father, even now, help me remember Your faithfulness to me. Help me recall the times when You interceded to protect me, when You made a way of escape for me, when You stayed with me in the hard times and got me through them with a vision or a song or an answer to prayer.
As I remember them one by one, I will sing and give You praise! I will recall and tell others of Your greatness, and Your goodness to me.
Thank You that You are “my rock of refuge, to which I can always go”. Thank You that “You are my strong refuge”. Thank You for these Words You sent me through David. I can almost use them word for word to praise You. They so elegantly voice the praise and thanks I want to express. Thank You that You are my God. Amen
Daily Bible Prayer 