Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Bebo Norman singing … I Will Lift My Eyes … poignantly singing of where we need to go when we’re desperate … first to lift our prayers to our God.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 102: 17 … [NLT] …
17 He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.
… TRUTH!! And if we believed it, where would [or should] we go first when we’re desperate?
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 102:1-17 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… The Psalmist showed where he went - and we should go - in prayer to His Lord.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Psalm 121:1-2 [NLT] …
9 I look up to the mountains-does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
… A prayer from desperate believers, ascending to Jerusalem to be with the Lord for Passover.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Matthew 14:32-36 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Where did Jesus go when He was desperate and on His way to the cross? … And shouldn’t we do the same thing when we’re desperate?
Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : ... Romans 8:26-27 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Paul, teaches how His Spirit will intercede for us before God’s throne of grace when we’re so desperate we don’t even know what to say in prayer.
Reference Passage #4 [NKJV] : … Philippians 4:6-7 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ...
… God, again thru Paul, teaches where to go when we’re desperate.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Anne Cetas, referred to the Pslamist of Psalm 102, illustrating where we, who are desperate, must go with our needs. The ODB author wrote: The writer of Psalm 102 knew the importance of prayer. This psalm is labeled, “A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.” He cried out, “Hear my prayer, Lord; . . . when I call, answer me quickly” (vv. 1–2). God looks down “from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he [views] the earth” (v. 19).
Dear one; … ever been in a place in life where you didn’t know what to do … a place of desperation? … I think we all could probably remember such a time; … or maybe we’re there right now; and we don’t even know how, or even what, to pray.
So, where do we turn in such a situation? And the answer - OF COURSE - is God, But do we … and then if we do, how do we pray as Bebo Norman sings in the linked song?
And I’ve learned over my years of following King Jesus [which are many!] to take heed to what Paul taught in Phil. 4:6-7 because of the truth of what God teaches in Rom. 8:26-27 … that God’s Spirit will intervene for us when we desperately and humbly come to God’s throne of grace, not knowing even what to prayer for.
That’s where Jesus went when He was most desperate (see Mark 14:32-36), didn't He? And if it’s a good enough strategy for our Lord, shouldn’t it be good enough for you and me?!
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … dear Lord, … You’re always there when we come to You in desperation. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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