I will praise Thee: for
Thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. Psalm 118.21
Here is a good testimony: Thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
Here is the right response, the good decision: I will
praise Thee.
The psalmist is not ungrateful, he received an answer
to his prayer and does not remain silent, he praises God.
Answered prayer should lead to praise. He heard my
prayer, He will also hear my praise. He is the Hearer of prayer, I shall be the
giver of praise.
’’…continuing instant
in prayer’’ (Romans 12:12)
This is what prayer is: talking with God about every
single thing. When you always have
something to tell Jesus, something to ask, something to request, then you have
a spirit of prayer. I come across prayer topics everywhere and at all times. I
find prayer topics in God's commandments, in His promises, I find prayer topics in my daily
life, in the responsibilities given to me, in all difficulties, in problems, in all my struggles and worries.
Even when the devil brings temptations, he does not know that he is actually
giving me new topics for prayer.
Having a lot of things to pray about, having a
Father waiting for my prayer, let me always take those prayer topics, and go to the throne of grace. I will take God's promises to His mercy seat and
receive their fulfillment. If my enemy, the
devil brings sinful thoughts and temptations, I can go to my heavenly Father
and complain about it. I should not argue with the devil, I should never listen to his suggestions, but
I should run at once to my heavenly Father and tell Him everything.
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Romans 4:7
The worst thing is the burden of sins, the greatest joy is to be delivered from it. There is no greater miracle than the miracle of the forgiveness of sins, no greater happiness than being forgiven, no greater victory than the victory over sin. The assurance of forgiveness of sins is a powerful sin-killer and a
worry-killer, if our sins are forgiven, no trouble will trouble us.
Ah Lord God! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth
by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for
Thee. Jeremiah 32:17
Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too
hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27
Jeremiah knew that nothing could be too hard for God who made the heaven and the earth. And
God confirmed this with a rhetorical question: Is there any thing too
hard for me? When we hear from the Lord personally, our faith is
strengthened; He has repeatedly said and demonstrated by deeds that nothing is
difficult for Him. He never answers prayers with these words: "You want
something difficult, I will try to do it." He made all things, can't He do
everything? Could not the Creator of the sea open the sea for His people? Could
not the Creator of the sun command the sun to stand still? Couldn't He who made
lions shut the lions’ mouth? If
something is God's will, let it not be difficult for me to believe that it is
not difficult for Him to do it, and if it is not His will, let it not be
difficult for me to accept His will.
So I will not worry about my difficult situations, my
difficult duties, my difficult tasks, my difficult problems, my difficult
struggles, because none of these difficult things are difficult for my God.
I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. Psalm 77:6
Here is Asaph's interlocutor, his heart. He communes with his own heart. I want to do the same. What should I talk about with my heart? My heart needs restoration, I will talk about God's Word that restores, my heart needs comfort, I will tell about the love of Jesus, about His great mercy. My heart speaks about its worries. I will say that Jesus has a solution for every problem, an answer to every question. My heart needs faith, I will tell about the works and miracles done by the Lord in the past, I will remind that He is the same yesterday, today and forever and can do miracles even today. My heart needs joy, I will speak of the statutes of the Lord that rejoice the heart (Psalm 19:8).
My heart seeks Jesus, I will say that those who seek Him find Him. The subject of my conversation with my heart is one Person, my Lord.
When I speak to my heart, it is not a dialogue, but a conference, because my Lord is present and participating in the conversation.
From my diary
Even before they call,
I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
Isaiah 65:24
What a
quick answer to prayer --- to receive the answer before calling, to receive a
reply before sending the letter. And so what a delight, what a joy to pray to
such a quick-answering God. Shouldn't this encourage me to pray more, to trust
more in my prayer-hearing God?
December 4, 2022
And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to
take hold of You… (Isaiah 64:7).
A good reminder for me, the definition of true prayer
--- taking hold of God. That’s what Jacob did. Coldness on prayer is dangerous.
Let me remember that there is someone who doesn’t want me to call on the Name
of the Lord, to take hold of Him. That one is my enemy who is trying to prevent me from praying. And there is One who is waiting for my
prayer, that One is my Lord who is ready to listen to my prayers.
From my diary
