September 3, 2006 - Psalms 140-142 and I Corinthians 14:1-20
Prayer is so very important, but it is something that we all find hard to do consistently and sincerely. Why is that? Satan will do anything he can do to keep us from praying. He will use any weapon he can to distract us from prayer. He is pretty good at it, too. These three psalms are prayers of David. Think back over all of the psalms of David we have read these past several weeks. How many of them included prayer? Almost all of them included prayer. Could that have been David's reason for success? I think there is a great probability that David's heart of prayer was why he was a man after God's own heart. He had a soft heart that was ready and willing to cry out to God for help and forgiveness. He had a bold heart to seek God for power and direction. He was constantly praying. Psalm 140 gives us his prayer as a conversation with God. (v.6) It was almost a regular, routine part of his life to speak with God and listen for His response. Then, in the other two psalms here, he cried out to God. There was an urgent need. He sincerely sought God out of a heart of pain or desperation. He knew he could not handle it, so he went to God quickly and from a heart of faith. How is your prayer life? Is it a regular conversation with God 24/7, or is it just on special occasions? Does God hear your sincerity or is there just a sense of duty in your prayers? Let's concentrate on prayer! Let's make it a natural part of our lives, for without it, there is no meaningful blessing from God.
I Corinthians 14 expresses the difference between the spiritual gift of tongues, which is obviously speaking supernaturally in another language as happened in Acts 2, and the gift of prophesy, which is speaking forth God's word in a known language. The Lord says that we should desire prophesy, because it builds up others. That is the key. We need a heart of love that is concerned for others instead of just being able to say we can speak in a language we never learned. In other words, pride is bad when it comes to any spiritual gifts. We need to seek to use our gifts as God gives them to use for the profit of others, instead of ourselves.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 143-145 and I Corinthians 14:21-40.
I Corinthians 14 expresses the difference between the spiritual gift of tongues, which is obviously speaking supernaturally in another language as happened in Acts 2, and the gift of prophesy, which is speaking forth God's word in a known language. The Lord says that we should desire prophesy, because it builds up others. That is the key. We need a heart of love that is concerned for others instead of just being able to say we can speak in a language we never learned. In other words, pride is bad when it comes to any spiritual gifts. We need to seek to use our gifts as God gives them to use for the profit of others, instead of ourselves.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 143-145 and I Corinthians 14:21-40.