Heal Me and Forgive Me
Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18; 1 Corinthians 6: 12-20; John 1: 43-51
January 18, 2015
Our Psalm today speaks of God's intimate knowledge of us. And as we continue our look at prayer, I think it's important to look at this and consider why we pray when God knows us so completely. Here's what the psalmist wrote, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.” Why do we pray when God already knows the words on our tongue? This type of question was put to me just this week in a counseling session. And it was answered by a non-christian who said, “God wants to know that we know what we need.” I thought that was pretty good. My answer is that God doesn't like to eavesdrop—God wants us to be direct with our wants and our needs. Last Sunday Bev pointed out to me that the devotional These Days had an article about prayer last Saturday. I share some of that, “Watching our church bell-choir I’ve noticed things that have helped my prayer life. Each single note forms the song, a beautiful whole. Each musician has to play his or her notes, but if someone misses one the song goes on. I am learning to pray this way: I show up with my prayers and concerns but let others voice their own notes to God. I realize I am part of something bigger that myself, my congregation, even my denomination: I am a part of a choir of pray-ers.” Our prayer lives mix and match with millions of others to join us as one in the presence of God...another reason to pray; individually and as a congregation.
Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18; 1 Corinthians 6: 12-20; John 1: 43-51
January 18, 2015
Our Psalm today speaks of God's intimate knowledge of us. And as we continue our look at prayer, I think it's important to look at this and consider why we pray when God knows us so completely. Here's what the psalmist wrote, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.” Why do we pray when God already knows the words on our tongue? This type of question was put to me just this week in a counseling session. And it was answered by a non-christian who said, “God wants to know that we know what we need.” I thought that was pretty good. My answer is that God doesn't like to eavesdrop—God wants us to be direct with our wants and our needs. Last Sunday Bev pointed out to me that the devotional These Days had an article about prayer last Saturday. I share some of that, “Watching our church bell-choir I’ve noticed things that have helped my prayer life. Each single note forms the song, a beautiful whole. Each musician has to play his or her notes, but if someone misses one the song goes on. I am learning to pray this way: I show up with my prayers and concerns but let others voice their own notes to God. I realize I am part of something bigger that myself, my congregation, even my denomination: I am a part of a choir of pray-ers.” Our prayer lives mix and match with millions of others to join us as one in the presence of God...another reason to pray; individually and as a congregation.