Thursday, July 26, 2007

Where do we find God's presence?
Open for me the gates where the righteous enter; and I will go in and thank the Lord. Those gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. I thank you for answering my prayer and saving me!
Psalm 118:19-21 NLT
The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely.
Psalm 145:18 NLT
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God's presence, assured of his glad welcome.
Ephesians 3:12 NLT

Prayer brings us to His presence
[Psalm 118] pictures a victorious yet battle-weary king at the helm of a throng of grateful people entering the gates of the temple to thank God for saving them. During those times, the temple represented God's presence—the place where followers would go to pray to the Lord.
Today, we enter into God's presence in a car, at work, or in the aisles of a grocery store—wherever we take time to pray to him.
We can be sure God hears our prayers and answers each one wherever and whenever they are uttered. And by doing so, he gives us even more reasons to pray.
Just like the victorious king in this psalm, we should enter God's presence by thanking him for answering prayers. What answers to prayer are you thankful for today?

Adapted from The One Year Book of Bible Prayers (Tyndale House) entry for November 28

No comments: