Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 141:1-5
Ps 141:1-5
1 O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you. 2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. 3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies. 5 Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness; let him rebuke me--it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it.
Living in abject poverty (because he had given all his possessions to the poor) and sleeping in the homes of friends or on the streets, Joseph Scriven penned the words of “What a friend we have in Jesus.” His mother was sick and near death and he wrote this poem for her. He never intended it become a hymn and it did not do so until after his death. “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear; all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” “Have we trials and temptations?” “We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.” He is our friend and he is ever faithful to hear us.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray and to ask God to lead them not into temptation and to deliver them from evil. The Psalmist (in another Psalms) asked God to give him a pure heart and clean lips. As we mentioned yesterday, we are in a spiritual battle and we need all the help we can get to win our fights with Satan.
One of the greatest weapons we have in our arsenal is prayer. It is a weapon that is always available, no matter where we are or what time of day or night. It never gets dull or weakens with age. In fact, the more it is used, the more effective it becomes. This is why we are told to pray without ceasing.
While we are told to take all things to God in prayer and promised he will hear us, we are reminded that our prayers, our petitions, our supplications and requests are to be with thanksgiving. One of the wonderful things about thanksgiving prayer is that we can offer it before we even see the requests. God is faithful and will always answer our prayers with what he knows is best for us. So even if we mess up in our asking, God will fix it with his answer. Praise our God!
Thank you heavenly Father for being a God who loves me enough to listen to what I have to say. Open my heart that I will trust you more so I will talk with you more often. There is so much in life that overwhelms me and just takes away my energies. There are temptations that I try to resist but I need your strength to overcome. Too often I find myself saying things that should not be said and I need your help to be kind, patient and encouraging. Remind me that I am forgiven so I will be more forgiving to others. I pray in the name of Jesus my friend.
Robert
