Take it to The Lord in Prayer!
Today in Psalm 46 we have two verses that are worth memorizing. Verse 1, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble." And verse 10, "Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." So often we turn to ourselves for refuge and strength. Sometimes we don't realize God is an "ever present" help in time of need. We think things have to be really bad in order to qualify for what we can take to God. But as the old hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" goes,
"What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!"
Notice it says a couple of things, "everything to God in prayer". God has given us a vehicle or a means to communicate all of our sins and griefs through prayer. Prayer is talking to God guided by the Holy Spirit. We see when Jesus had anything difficult to bear in life, he took it to His Father in prayer. Sometimes all night he prayed to His Father. Then it says, "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry "everything" to God in prayer." I wonder how much pain we go through unnecessarily, because we don't go to prayer early enough and often enough. Even if it is emotional pain or spiritually wandering. And finally, we "forfeit" or give up peace. The opposite of peace is anxiety. Anxiety can be debilitating if it is not addressed. And one of the ways we can address it is to go to God in prayer.
And this leads me to our second verse, "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted in the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." What I believe this is saying is, "Slow down, take a deep breath, remember who is in charge here. I am with you, so you need not fear!" Usually what makes us most anxious is when we feel like something is out of our control. But the reality is we are not in control, but God is. That is why he wants us to be still and "know" he is God. To "know" in the Hebrew sense, was a deep knowledge based on experience and intimacy. So letting God control our lives leads to greater knowledge and intimacy with the One Jesus calls "Abba Father", which is the same as saying "daddy" in our context today.
I don't know about you, but I tend to worry a lot. Over the years I have quoted to myself Psalm 46:10 a lot. Don't pass up the opportunity today to, "Be Still and know He is God today!" Don't forfeit the peace that is yours in Christ, who sits at the right of God and intercedes for us. Don't delay take it to The Lord in prayer!
Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Genesis 12:1-9
The Call of Abram
12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
1 Corinthians 7:17-24
Concerning Change of Status
17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
"What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!"
Notice it says a couple of things, "everything to God in prayer". God has given us a vehicle or a means to communicate all of our sins and griefs through prayer. Prayer is talking to God guided by the Holy Spirit. We see when Jesus had anything difficult to bear in life, he took it to His Father in prayer. Sometimes all night he prayed to His Father. Then it says, "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry "everything" to God in prayer." I wonder how much pain we go through unnecessarily, because we don't go to prayer early enough and often enough. Even if it is emotional pain or spiritually wandering. And finally, we "forfeit" or give up peace. The opposite of peace is anxiety. Anxiety can be debilitating if it is not addressed. And one of the ways we can address it is to go to God in prayer.
And this leads me to our second verse, "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted in the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." What I believe this is saying is, "Slow down, take a deep breath, remember who is in charge here. I am with you, so you need not fear!" Usually what makes us most anxious is when we feel like something is out of our control. But the reality is we are not in control, but God is. That is why he wants us to be still and "know" he is God. To "know" in the Hebrew sense, was a deep knowledge based on experience and intimacy. So letting God control our lives leads to greater knowledge and intimacy with the One Jesus calls "Abba Father", which is the same as saying "daddy" in our context today.
I don't know about you, but I tend to worry a lot. Over the years I have quoted to myself Psalm 46:10 a lot. Don't pass up the opportunity today to, "Be Still and know He is God today!" Don't forfeit the peace that is yours in Christ, who sits at the right of God and intercedes for us. Don't delay take it to The Lord in prayer!
Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Genesis 12:1-9
The Call of Abram
12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
1 Corinthians 7:17-24
Concerning Change of Status
17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
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