Own It, II

Romans 3:^23-24 “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

How do I pray in a crisis, thereby through a crisis? I Thank God, No Matter How I Feel. I Honour God, No Matter What I See. I Let God Speak To Me Before I Speak To Him. Number four, I Express My Desires With Emotion. I Ask For Mercy. And yesterday we learnt that when we come before God asking for mercy, we need to own it. ‘God have mercy on us. We have not listened to You. Have mercy on us oh God of heaven.’

And we see another example of this in the Bible in Nehemiah 1:^4-11 “When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses. “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honoured.’ “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honouring you...” (emphasis added).

Daniel 9:¹⁸ “O God, listen to me and hear my request… We do not ask because we deserve help, but because you are so merciful” (emphasis added). This is so beautiful. He says, we do not… “We”. He did not say, “I do not”. Even in his prayers, Daniel did not say “I”. I pray that God will come through for us and have mercy upon us, not because we deserve help but because HE IS MERCIFUL! God will have mercy upon us and put an end to every crisis in our lives, not because we deserve it but because He is merciful. So, when I thank God, no matter how I feel; When I honour God, no matter what I see; When I let God speak to me before I speak to Him; When I express my desires with emotions and I ask for mercy, then I will discover that the best I can bring starts on my knees.

Prayer (song): Only You are holy. Only You are worthy. Only You are wonderful. For there’s no one else like You. Who is faithful ever true. All my love, my heart, my life is a testimony. Only You are holy. Amen!