Devotion by:
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
In this psalm, the anonymous author sings praises for being saved from certain death. It reminds us that worship is a thankful response to the blessings granted to us by God and not a repayment for what God has done in our lives. The footnote for this verse in my Life Application Study Bible provides us the following guidance: “God is so responsive that you can always reach him. He bends down and listens to your voice.” The psalmist expresses love for our Lord that has grown because he experienced answers to his prayers. Why is it that most of us turn to God in prayer only when we are discouraged? Do we take God for granted when times are good? Do we seem to think that when times are good, we don’t need God as much in our life? We need to remember that God is near, always listening carefully to our every prayer and answering each prayer in ways that we may not immediately understand or realize. But if we do not ask, how can we expect God to hear us?
Sometimes we find it difficult to ask each other for forgiveness. Our sinful pride gets in the way and we are reluctant to ask for forgiveness, fearing that the person from whom we have begged forgiveness will refuse to grant us that forgiveness. We perceive that asking for forgiveness would be interpreted as a sign of weakness, or perhaps we fear the other person will attach conditions upon that forgiveness. Perhaps if we first ask God for forgiveness and ask for his support, we might find that with God’s help, the other person will look upon us with mercy and grace and grant us that forgiveness that God so freely gives to us without asking anything in return.
Later in this psalm, the author asks how he can repay the Lord for all the goodness granted to him. He then responds by promising to fulfill his vows to the Lord, by recognizing that he is a servant to the Lord, and by making a sacrificial thank offering to the Lord. Surely God is responding to the psalmist’s request by providing those answers to him in prayer. Our congregation here at Christ the King has the opportunity to offer a thankful response to God for all the blessings he has granted to us over these past 25 years by making a sacrificial thank offering as part of our Silver to Gold capital campaign. I hope you will join me in asking God for guidance and courage to make that sacrificial offering at this time.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, we offer our thankful response to the blessings you have granted us, the greatest blessing being the sacrifice of your son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of his sacrifice, our prayers have been answered and we are saved from eternal death. We ask that you continue to encourage us to seek you in thoughtful prayer and we ask for you to guide us in serving you. Amen.
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