Greetings everyone. I have a confession to make today. For the last few days I have been weighted down with other people’s problems and I’m a little spiritually weary. I got a little angry and snapped out of it through repentance. I will now take it to our Father.
Today’s Prayer
Father, Help me. I have just become so impatient with lazy people and so overwhelmed with the problems of those around me. Some people are lazy because they’ve never been taught better; others because they have just given up; others because difficult circumstances and health problems have plagued them and they just have gotten out of the habit of getting up and doing. I pray for relief from this burden and for conviction upon those who need it; for assistance to those who need it; for wisdom for the unwise or confused; for motivation for the unmotivated; for stamina for the weak; for sound minds for the mentally challenged; for healing for the sick and suffering; for work for those who need income; for every need to be met; for a touch from Your Holy Spirit for us all. I bring these burdens to You and release them in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Repentance
Psalm 51:1-17
1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 5 For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6 But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. 7 Purify me from my sins and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice. 9 Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. 14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. 15 Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you. 16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
Quote of the Day
Our problem is that we assume prayer is something to master the way we master algebra or auto mechanics. That puts us in the “on-top” position, where we are competent and in control. But when praying, we come “underneath,” where we calmly and deliberately surrender control and become incompetent… The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture. That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by it, we live by it as well. And we pray by it. ~Richard J. Foster~