Scripture for the MonthNovember 2018
O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will provide atonement for them.
Blessed is the man You choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.
By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
Pastor's Note
As we celebrate Thanksgiving this month, among the many things you and I have to be thankful for, let us not forget to be thankful for the privilege of prayer.
Prayer is the greatest privilege of our faith in Jesus Christ. To take all our concerns, praises and needs before God the Father is an awesome privilege. It's made more awe-inspiring when we know God hears our prayers.
The psalmist reassures us God hears our prayers and has provided atonement for our sin. We assured of the power of prayer through which we shall be satisfied with God's goodness. We are assured it is God who stills the seas, the noise of the waves and the tumult of the peoples. In other words, it is God who grants us calm in the midst of the storms of life. He does so through prayer.
I want to focus this month on the topic of prayer by posing two questions: Is it OK to ask God for the same things repeatedly and is it OK to use the same words repeatedly in prayer? For the answers, please read Luke 18: 1-8 and connect Jesus' call to always pray with the assurances of the psalmist.
When you do, you'll discover God wants us to pray and loves it when we do. He doesn't mind if we repeat the same words or ask for the same things. Contrary to popular belief, repetitive prayer is not indicative of a lack of faith. Rather, it is indicative of a persevering faith in which when we feel we need to take something to God, we do so without any consideration if our repetition might be considered by some as a sign of weak faith.
My friends, God would rather hear from you and me about something on our heart than He would have us believe we don't matter to Him or what we're going through isn't important to Him. So, be at peace knowing God hears your prayers and in His perfect timing will answer according to His perfect will. Take a minute this month to thank God for the privilege of prayer and the assurance He hears us.
Continuing the work of Jesus ChristPeacefully, Simply, Together
Peacefully, Simply, Together