Today’s Reading:
Psalm 5:1-12
“Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, for to You l will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You l will worship toward Your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue; Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You. But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. For You, O Lord will bless the righteous; with favour, You will surround him as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:1-12 NKJV)
The secret of a cordial relationship with God is to be able to earnestly call upon Him every morning. Why should we make our request known to God very early in the morning? At such times, our minds are freer from problems and chores of the day, and we can commit the whole of the day to the hand of God. Also, at that time, the atmosphere is not yet polluted. On its own, regular communication in any friendship helps the relationship. And in the case of prayer, it strengthens our relationship with God. Have a regular time to pray and read the Bible (vv. 1-3). Mercy of God spoken of in Psalm 5, describes His steadfast love and his covenant loyalty (v. 7). Experiencing God’s mercy, His unfailing love is a believer’s primary benefit in his faith in Him, and the benefits are unceasing. His covenant love is the same as His loving-kindness towards all.
God’s love here concerns the reliability and dependability of His love to those who believe and trust in Him. Wrapped in His loving-kindness are His promises of forgiveness, His compassion and His blessings. This type of faith leads to the fear of God in reverence obedience, and security, joy, protection and blessing are guaranteed (vv. 11-12). The shield in verse 12 is large enough to cover the entire body (Ps. 3:3-6). God will not tolerate or excuse sin in any way, not even the least sin. We cannot wallow in sin and expect the blessings of God to multiply. Sin will be punished. Therefore, as we grow spiritually, we must be sensitive to the least sin. How do you react to sin in your life? Are you sensitive, unconcerned, undisturbed or comfortable?
God does not take pleasure in wickedness, nor can evil dwell with You. When we are aware of this, we must not condemn sin but be willing to change. We should strive to be tolerant of each other but should be less tolerant of the sins of others and ourselves. When the Holy Spirit convicts us of any sin, we must immediately repent and not try giving excuses. One of the reasons why David was a man after God’s heart is that at the least conviction, he is readily repentant. It shows humility and reverence for God. Then God will readily defend us from the lies of the enemies.
OLUFUNMILAYO TITILOLA ADEKUSIBE
To surrender your life to Christ, say this prayer aloud: Father, thank you for Jesus Christ. Forgive my sins, take control of my heart and lead me in your righteous path by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Thank You, Lord. If you said the prayer, Congratulations! Prayerfully look for a living church and report to the resident reverend, pastor or priest.
Prayer:
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
Thank you, Lord, for answers to my call when I cry unto You.
Thank You that I can take refuge in You and put my trust in You. Also, for covering me and sheltering me, in Jesus' name.
Lead me O Lord, in Your righteousness and make Your way straight before me, in Jesus' name.
O Lord, I trust in You, I love Your name, let me rejoice in You; let me forever be filled with the joy in Your presence, because You are my defender, in Jesus' name.
O Lord, let me and my family experience Your deep, great and mighty deliverance, transform our minds, in Jesus' name.
Our Father, visit Christian homes with Your love and mercy and unite the husband, the wife and the children to build a god-fearing family to the glory of Your name, in Jesus' name.
Unite the body of Christ with your love to harmoniously proclaim the Gospel of truth, in Jesus' name.
We commit the leaders of the church to Your care, Lord, and grant them the fear of You in all their decisions, in Jesus' name.
You who dwell amid cherubim, shine forth. Stir up Your strength and come and save the nations of the world, especially our nation Nigeria. Turn us again, and cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved, in Jesus' name.
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