The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 32 (day seven)
“How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whom there is no deceit.”  (vs 2) ” We are only as sick as our secrets.”  So says the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book.  A proven truth.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John 1:9)  When we hide (from God, from ourselves, from others) our sins control us.  They rule our inner lives, expressing themselves in anxiety, regret and shame.  When we bring them into the light, they lose their power.  Painful?  Yes.  Life-giving?  Yes.  One of God’s great blessings in the life of His children is this lesson that we are to be open and honest in our communication–even about the things we are ashamed of.  Especially about the things we are ashamed of!  Forgiveness comes when we are honest, and life with it!

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 32 (day six)
Philip Yancey’s father-in-law was a  lifelong Bible teacher.  In his final years, he experienced deep and prolonged heartbreak (degenerative nerve disease, the death his daughter, financial pressures).  Taken together, these disappointments became a crisis of faith.  He began to wonder what he still believed.  That year, in a Christmas letter he communicated “3 certainties”.  3 undeniables.  “Life is hard.  God is merciful.  Heaven is sure.”( Reaching for the Invisible God–page 95.)  In Psalm 32, David echos this raw/real confession of faith.  “I acknowledged my sin to you. . .you forgave the guilt of my sin”  (vs 5)  Even surrounded by experiences we do not understand, one truth remains clear.  1000 years before the cross of Christ, David experienced (and encouraged us to do the same) the sweet assurance of God’s mercy.  “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive MERCY and find grace to help in time of need.”  (Hebrews 4:16)

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 32 (day four)
The Psalmist gives us a model for discipleship in this chapter.  Verses 1-4 describe his experience in sin.  God weighs heavily on his soul (conviction) and brings him to repentance.  Verses 5-7 describe his response to the conviction…confession, and the result of the confession…joy.  Finally, in verses 8-11, the Psalmist encourages the reader to trust in the Lord.  With trust, comes loving kindness and joy.  This is the same model that Christ gave Peter…’when you go through a trial and learn from it, share it with others.’  In Luke 22:31-32, it says, “And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon!  Indeed, Satan has asked for you (plural), that he may sift you (plural) as wheat.  But I have prayed for you (singular), that your (singular) faith should not fail; and when you (singular) have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.’” As difficult as repentance and confession is, we can still encourage others in their faith and trust in the Lord.  The result is joy…for us and for them.

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 32 (day three)
“Do not be like the horse or the mule…”  A society that has estranged itself from the Bible says God functions as a substitute for thinking.  A society that has estranged itself from the Bible says religion keeps people in an intellectual cave.  A society that has estranged itself from the Bible says no one can really know what’s true. Actually, rote belief and slavish thinking have no place in the life of anyone instructed by God’s word.  Control by bit and bridle is for mules, not for people.  To understand the seriousness of sin, to confess to the Lord, and to learn from God how to live and not die—this is height to which God calls the human mind.  God actually has a higher view of human beings than a society which claims that truth is out of reach for us.

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 32 (day two)
“For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat” (32:4). I think my junior high Sunday school teacher was right. The most miserable person on the planet is not the atheist or agnostic, Muslim or Mormon, rebellious or religious. It is the redeemed, follower of Jesus who is living in willful disobedience to God. Whether in deliberate sin or simply refusing to follow the Spirit’s prompting, the Spirit of God may make that person miserable until he or she yields. To that person, the “still small voice” becomes “like a lion roaring.” This gift of misery is indeed a powerful expression of mercy. The misery reveals the need for forgiveness (5), brings protection (7), opens the door for God Himself to instruct (8) and rejuvenates praise (11). All of this comes to those who will “acknowledge their sin.” What a great gift misery can be!

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 32 (day one)
“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. . .Then I acknowledged my sin to you. . .and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”  (vs 3, 5)  In 1995, Jimmy Allen, a former pastor of FBCSA, published a book called The Burden of a Secret. In the 70’s his daughter-in-law and two grandchildren  contracted HIV through a blood transfusion.  The book tells the agony of the family as they struggled with this ultimately fatal diagnosis in a time when it was not safe to share with others.  King David knew the burden of a secret but with sin.  When he kept silent, he experienced the weary inner cost.  Thankfully, he eventually broke the silence in confession to God.  The result?  Forgiveness and help.  Secret sin is a burden that none of us can carry alone.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive. . .and cleanse us.  (1 John 1:9)

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 31 (day seven)
“In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from your sight!’  Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. . .Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”  (vs 22, 24)  Sometimes I pray because I am afraid.  It isn’t faith that sends me to my knees.  It is fear, and I have nowhere else to go.  Sometimes I wonder how He could accept such a prayer, how easy it would be for Him to be frustrated with me for not having more faith, for letting life get the better of me.  But He never reprimands me.  I receive mercy and help!  David reports the same experience.  Aware of the weakness of his faith, he prayers, nevertheless, and God hears and helps!  God’s grace is sufficient even for people who panic into His presence.  “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” (Psalm 56:3)

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 31 (day six)
“Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. . .Into thy hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord.”  (vs 3, 5)   Words of a song.  David’s words.  He put them to music.  Christ sang (or said) them on the cross.  Comparable moment to a modern person, with death fast approaching, who whispers, “that saved a wretch like me”.  Most of those standing by would recognize and connect them to “Amazing Grace”.  Psalm 31 is a prayer for rest.  Soldiers weary from battle are longing for a rock of refuge or strong fortress in which they may “let down their defenses” and be renewed.  Ever long for the same thing, yourself?  David say that we find such safety in the “hands of God”.  “He’s got the whole world in His hands.  He’s got the whole world in His hands.”  Different song.  Same idea.  Rest, dear friends.  Commit your spirit to God and rest!

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 31 (day four)
All of us need encouragement.  The pressures of life can sometimes be overwhelming…it seems as if everything is going wrong and the whole world is against you.  David experienced that feeling.  Verse 9 says he was in distress.  His life was all tears and sorrows…he was like a broken vessel.  What was his response?  Verse 1 says, “In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;” Verse 3 says, “For You are my rock and my fortress;” Verse 4 says, “For You are my strength.”  Verse 5 says, “Into Your hand I commit my spirit;” Verse 6, “But I trust in the Lord.” Verse 14, “I trust in You, O Lord, I say, ‘You are My God.’”  When David faced adversity…as we all will…he trusted in the Lord.  His encouragement to us is “Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord.” On the cross, Jesus gave us the same example…”Into Your hand I commit My Spirit;”  Will you follow their example?

Re:Verse reading–Psalm 31 (day three)
“Those who see me on the street flee from me.”  David knew how quickly friendships and loyalties could fire up and then fade.  Mentors, advisors, friends, his own children—David knew such pain from every side.  In the middle of such terrifying instability, words such as “refuge” (verse 1 of this Psalm), “rock”, “fortress”, “rampart”, and the like crop up frequently in David’s descriptions of God.  These are the only terms David found that would come close to capturing the sense of sure-footed safety that he had come to know in God’s presence.  David could live confidently in the presence of others because he retreated first to God.  Jesus Christ stood firmly in this same spiritual rhythm.  And he went further.  His retreats with God fueled his love for others to the extent that he confidently laid down his life for our sakes.