March 17, 2011

Psalm 61 (Click to see scripture)

Bible in One Year Passages:
Matthew 26:1-16, Romans 9:1-18, Numbers 33-34

Journal Entry

Scripture

1Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
2from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
3for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!

Observation

David experientially knew what to do when his heart was weak and overwhelmed. It was crying out to God that had been one sure way of experiencing victory over life challenges. Life was indeed hard and unpredictable for David to the extent that his heart was faint. There was probably not much he could do about these extremely difficult life situations except crying out to God for help and strength. Out of this practice and discipline, David had learned that God was and is his towering rock, safe refuge and impregnable shelter.

Application

This is a great reminder that prayer is a backbone of experiencing God's comfort and power in every life circumstance. When his people plead with God, he does listen and answer according to his good and perfect. As a result, we experience God's protection and victory in life.

How is my prayer life? How often do I converse with him? Do I "pick and choose" in that I only let God "know" things that I can't solve on my own? Do I call out to him "from the end of the earth?" I ought to converse with God all the time (I Thessalonians 5:17). May today be one of many days I put this discipline into full practice!

Prayer

Father God, would you enable me by Your Spirit to put the discipline of conversing with you throughout this day called Today? I desire to be connected to You and Your spirit as I pray all the time. Amen.

--p. han