Monday READ: Psalm 24
Do you know anybody who is a clean freak? We have some friends who are obsessive cleaners. When you go in their home there is no dust, dirt or clutter. Nothing is out of place. It always looks to me as if no one lives there. I am a clutter sort of person. The truth is, life is full of dirt, clutter and disorder. So when the Psalmist says that only those who have clean hands and pure hearts can come into the presence of God that is a little disconcerting. Who always has clean hands? Who always has a pure heart? Whose actions (hands) and attitudes (hearts) are always pure? Not mine or anyone else I know. So who can stand in God’s presence? I know I am a sinner, but I also know that every day I am seeking more of Christ and less of me. Perhaps the Psalmist is reminding us that those who have a deep desire for God to have all of them, their hands and hearts, who are making living for God an absolute priority in their life, are the ones who enter into the fullness of God’s presence and receive the fullness of his blessing. When you are seeking more of Jesus and less of you, the doors to God’s glory fling wide open.
Prayer Focus: Lord, give me your grace to be completely yours. Let there be more of Jesus and less of me.
Tuesday READ: PSALM 25
Let’s focus on verses 4 and 5. “Show me the right path, O lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me.”
He was 87 years old, a delightful man, full of life and enthusiasm. When I first visited with him I noticed a thick text book by his chair titled Organic Chemistry. I asked him if that was for light reading. He said, “Heavens, no! I audit a course every semester at Auburn. I take a course on a subject I know nothing about. I love learning new things.” At 87 he was still teachable.
Are you teachable? King David had walked with God for years. But he knew he still had a lot of growing to do. He was praying for God to continue to teach him. Don’t get so settled and comfortable with what you know that you are no longer open to God teaching you a new thing. God always has something to show us, grow us, and teach us. If you stop being teachable you just may miss a fresh new blessing from the Lord.
Prayer Focus: write verses 4 and 5 on a note card, place it by your bed and the first thing every morning pray those words out loud.
Wednesday READ: PSALM 26
On Pentecost Sunday I participated in a worship service at First United Methodist Church here in Montgomery. That is my home church, where I grew up. The most significant moments of my life have taken place in that church: I was baptized there, gave my life to Christ there, met my wife there, was married there. Two of my children were baptized there. My mama and daddy were married there and buried from there. I was ordained a Methodist preacher there and preached my first sermon there. Church matters to me. Walking down that long aisle on Pentecost, I felt like I was home.
The Psalmist has been accused of something, charges have been filed, and lies told. He is praying for vindication. He prays for God to right the wrong and restore his name. But most of all, he prayed, “don’t let them keep me away from the place I love to be—in the temple, your house, O Lord.” I love it when people say of the church ‘this place feels like home to me.’ You can meet God anywhere, but don’t kid yourself; most people meet God in his house, the church, the place where his glory dwells.
Prayer Focus: Pray for the church. Pray for God to keep it strong, vital and vibrant, so that those who come here can find a home and meet God.
Thursday READ: Psalm 28
Summer is a time to play outside. From riding bikes to swimming to playing a pickup game of baseball, children are playing everywhere in our neighborhood. I was playing a “sandlot” baseball game with my son and his friends recently when the baseball inadvertently went into the street and down the sewer drain, just out arm’s reach. I told the boys that the ball was in the pit and to forget about it. They quickly got a new ball and continued the game. It was in that moment looking at a ball just out of my grasp, stuck in a pit, that this psalm resonated with me. It begins with a plea for help that he would not be forgotten, dead to God, using the imagery of the Pit. This prayer was a desperate plea to not end up silent, stuck in the Pit, separated from God. By verse 6, the psalmist thanks God for hearing his plea. Have you ever felt like you were trapped in the sewer with no help from God? All alone in a pit? Forgotten by God? Psalm 28 reminds us that though we may end up in the Pit, God’s arm is never too short to reach us.
Prayer Focus: Next time your life ends up in the pit, remember Psalm 28. Add it to your prayer List.
Friday READ: Psalm 29
Psalm 29 uses the phrase “the voice of the Lord” seven times in only eleven verses. The faithful people of prayer hear the voice of the Lord. They can hear the voice of the Lord in a still small voice or in the booming thunder of a storm. Its as if “the voice of the Lord” comes to us in another language— the “prayer language” of God. Psalm 29 is our reminder that God’s voice is indeed active in this world, seeking to be heard by all of Creation. God is continuously making Himself known to those who have ears to hear God’s “prayer language.” And yet, many people are deaf to “the voice of the Lord.” Notice that to those outside, the thunder seems destructive in its power because it shakes up the world, but to those inside the temple, worshipping and seeking the presence of God, hearing His voice is cause to cry, “Glory!” Have you ever felt like you heard the voice of God? If so, reflect on those moments and how God’s voice became known to you.
Prayer Focus: Praying is developing a “prayer language” to hear God’s voice in our world, from the thunder to a quiet whisper.
Saturday READ: Psalm 31
Some of the psalms are about calling on God to come down and bring salvation into the midst of a problem. But in this one, the psalmist is focused on committing himself into the presence of God, knowing there, in the shelter of God’s presence, no problem can ultimately matter.
Last week I was at Lake Junaluska in the mountains of North Carolina. “Lake J” has always been an amazing place for me to experience the presence of the Lord. I walked up to the large white cross that overlooks the lake with the mountains in the distance to soak up some time with God. The clouds hung low, the air was cool and comfortable, and the sun was shining just right. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I found myself singing that old familiar tune, “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.”
How about you? Where do you need to go to experience the presence of the Lord? There are times when we must get away to be close with God—up on a mountain or down by a lake.
Prayer Focus: If you have become frustrating with trying to get God to come into your presence, try instead making time to take yourself into His presence and commit yourself afresh to Him.