Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 88:1-5
Ps 88:1-5
1 O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. 2 May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. 3 For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength. 5 I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.
James 5:13-16
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Someone has said that prayer is the most neglected and underused privilege in the lives of most Christians. For sure, it is the strongest and the most effective weapon in our spiritual arsenal. It is through prayer that we enlist the power of the ruler and the universe, our heavenly Father. There is nothing that is beyond his control. Plus, he wants to hear us and he wants to help us.
In our Psalm we find one who is overwhelmed with sorrow and grief. His life is in shambles and he is filled with depression. Yet, in the midst of this, he turns to God and recognizes that he is the God who can save him. It is not something that is just temporary but “day and night” he cries out to his Lord. While he sees not relief from his trials, he does not doubt the Lord or cease to seek his favor.
There is nothing wrong with being honest with God. Even when it seems that everything has gone wrong and the entire world has fallen in on us, we can still find peace in the assurance that God loves us and will be with us. We must not fear the storms of life because he both brings the winds and waves but he also has them under his control. He is our light in the midst of the darkest night.
Thank you Lord for loving me. Thank you for allowing me to come to you in prayer with the assurance that you will hear me and answer me. Holy Father, it is indeed an awesome thing for me to approach you and yet I do so in the name of Jesus and with his insistence. Help me find peace as I trust in you but live in a world that is filled with war and all kinds of turmoil. You have blessed me beyond anything I ever dreamed possible and I am so thankful to you. I hurt for others in their grief and suffering and ask you to use me to help them. I pray in Jesus name.
Robert
