Dec 12 2024

The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

In this verse, we learn that the Lord always hears the prayers of the righteous, while the Lord is far from the wicked. There are many things we can learn from this statement.

The first is that prayer is a privilege. To hear from God, we must be righteous. This doesn't mean we live sinlessly, but rather, that Jesus's blood is the perfect covering for our sin. God is holy, and the only prayer He will respond to from someone who doesn't know Him is a prayer for salvation&mdah;a prayer for Jesus's blood to cover sin.

The second thing we can learn is that there is a benefit to being righteous. Prayer is a reward that we get for walking in communion with the Lord. It is the channel through which we are able to communicate with Him and hear Him speak back to us. It is a blessing for us to be able to come before God and share with Him our hearts—the things that grieve us, our fears, our emotions, and our excitement about good things. Prayer is where we build a relationship with the Lord—a privilege that is only open to people who have trusted in Him with their lives.

Thirdly, we can be certain that God hears our prayers. It's a good idea to confess and repent of any sin in your life at the beginning of your prayers so there is nothing between you and the Lord. Sin blocks our ability to listen and respond to the Lord, but if we pray for forgiveness at the beginning of our prayers, we will be able to pray as He has intended for us to. Afterward, we can be certain that the Lord will respond to our prayers.

It can be difficult sometimes to believe that the Lord is listening to our prayers—especially when what we're praying for seems to never happen. Sometimes it feels like our prayers are hitting the ceiling. But this is never a true picture of what is happening, and we can combat our feelings with the truth of God's Word... He hears the prayers of the righteous.

Dear Lord, I thank you so much for always hearing my prayers and responding to them. I thank you that you care about every word that I utter and that nothing escapes your notice. Help me to rest in you, knowing that you have never forgotten a single prayer I have prayed. Reveal to me unconfessed sin so that I can rid myself of any uncleanness in my heart. I look to you, Lord, and thank you for the ability to pray. In Jesus' name, amen.

Dec 11 2024

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. :

Psalm 107 is a song of thanksgiving to the Lord. In this verse, we praise the Lord specifically for His mercies, which last forever. Think about the ways that the Lord has shown you mercy in your life. There's no mercy greater than our salvation. We are hopeless and helpless in our sin without Jesus, but He showed us mercy and was the perfect sacrifice that atoned for our sins once and for all.

This verse is a command: give thanks unto the Lord. Our lives should reflect our thankful hearts. We are supposed to give thanks—and there are many ways to do that. One is simply singing this Psalm back to the Lord, recognizing what He has done for us. Spending time with the Lord in prayer and study of His Word is another. Serving other people—allowing yourself to be "inconvenienced" for an opportunity to share His love—is another way. We should always be on the lookout for ways to express our gratitude for the Lord's mercy by serving others.

I love how this Psalm describes God's mercy: enduring forever. It means His mercy will never end. As long as we continue to repent of our sins, there will never be a day when the Lord says that we've sinned one too many times to have a relationship with Him. He will never reject a contrite heart because His mercies endure forever. This also means the areas of our lives where we've received mercy—where the Lord has always forgiven us—will always be covered in mercy. There will never be a day when they are not covered by the blood of Jesus.

We are free from sin because God has shown us mercy. We realize that we are not what we do or the sum of our past mistakes, but instead are creations of a loving and merciful God. As we grow in our understanding of this, we will, as the Psalm urges us, give thanks to the Lord.

Dear Lord, I praise you for your mercy. I know that I need your mercy more than I could ever understand, and I thank you so much for giving it in such abundance. Help me to recognize the depth of your mercy, as much as I can, and to respond to it with a grateful and overflowing heart. Help me to share your mercy with other people, reflecting the love that you have already shown me. In Jesus' name, amen.