"I told you my plans, and you answered. Now teach me your decrees." (Psalm 119:26, NLT)
So much of our prayers are telling God our plans. It is sort of a shopping list of our wants and desires. Of course if or when we pray the Lord's Prayer, we do pray for, "Thy will be done"--- But really? Do I really want His will? Of course our "spiritual" self will answer a resounding, "Yes!" But so many times, deep down in the recesses of our self there is, "'I told you my plans,' now why don't You approve them?" Notice, however, the "balance," the "correction" in our text to, "my plans...." It is, "Now teach me your decrees," i.e., Your plans. In our right minds we know His plans are the only fail-safe plans.
I would like to recommend something to you because of the great blessing I had this morning reading Psalm 119 in the New Living Translation. You may know that you can obtain a copy by online sources such as "BibleGateway.com" Along with our text, let me give you some more examples of the prayers I prayed:
"Your laws please me; they give me wise advice.
The path of your commands,..that is where my happiness is found.
My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.
If your instructions hadn't sustained me with joy, I would have died in my misery.
Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.
"Lying to myself," is a human malady. He, Who is, "The Word of God," King Jesus, tells us here that, "knowing Your instructions," keeps me from such deception.
And one last great Truth for today: "As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You so much for Your words which help me to commune with You. Amen.
So much of our prayers are telling God our plans. It is sort of a shopping list of our wants and desires. Of course if or when we pray the Lord's Prayer, we do pray for, "Thy will be done"--- But really? Do I really want His will? Of course our "spiritual" self will answer a resounding, "Yes!" But so many times, deep down in the recesses of our self there is, "'I told you my plans,' now why don't You approve them?" Notice, however, the "balance," the "correction" in our text to, "my plans...." It is, "Now teach me your decrees," i.e., Your plans. In our right minds we know His plans are the only fail-safe plans.
I would like to recommend something to you because of the great blessing I had this morning reading Psalm 119 in the New Living Translation. You may know that you can obtain a copy by online sources such as "BibleGateway.com" Along with our text, let me give you some more examples of the prayers I prayed:
"Your laws please me; they give me wise advice.
The path of your commands,..that is where my happiness is found.
My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.
If your instructions hadn't sustained me with joy, I would have died in my misery.
Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.
"Lying to myself," is a human malady. He, Who is, "The Word of God," King Jesus, tells us here that, "knowing Your instructions," keeps me from such deception.
And one last great Truth for today: "As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You so much for Your words which help me to commune with You. Amen.
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* So far we have three people who have committed to the 24/7 prayer for the Far East Mission.
* A special thanks to those who have contributed finances so far.
* So far we have three people who have committed to the 24/7 prayer for the Far East Mission.
* A special thanks to those who have contributed finances so far.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
