A Prayer for Desiring God

 

O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire you with our whole heart, that so desiring, we may seek and find you; and so finding you, we may love you; and loving you, we may hate those sins from which you have redeemed us, for the sake of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Saint Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033-1109)

No One to Turn to -- But God

 

The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among man...

But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (Micah 7:2a,7)(ESV) 

Perhaps you sometimes feel that you have no one to turn to with your stresses and struggles. It is not just a matter of having someone to understand, but of finding someone you can trust.

Micah must have felt quite lonely as he faced the proud, powerful people of Jerusalem. Like Elijah (1 Kings 19:10), he probably felt as if he were the last faithful believer on the planet (Mic. 7:2). Wherever he turned he seemed to find people who were blood-thirsty, corrupted, treacherous, and deceitful. Even the members of his own family were not to be trusted (7:2-6).

Faced with such a world, Micah found reassurance in the fact that God remains in control and takes care of His faithful children, no matter what others may be up to (7:7). This truth can be a great hope for believers today, especially when we find ourselves in the minority, or even all alone among people who do not know or honor the Lord.

(from the The Word in Life Study Bible by Nelson Pub.)

The Lord Will Not Forsake Us

Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid of them! The Lord your God will go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you. (Deut. 31:6)

The Lord promised the Israelites that He would go before them into Canaan and would never forsake them. This must have been very reassuring since the gods of Israel's enemies were regarded as deities that could give the people only limited protection within their own territory. Imagine how the Israelites must have felt knowing that their all-powerful God was not bound by geography and would never leave them. We should be grateful today that we serve this same God who "never changes or casts shifting shadows" (Jms. 1:17). Praise the Lord that He is ever present and ever faithful to us.

FAITHFUL FATHER, you go before us in everything. We praise you for the promise of your presence with us. We thank you that you will neither fail us nor forsake us. Strengthen us to remain faithful to you in thanksgiving for your constant presence with us.

(from the Praise and Worship Study Bible by Tyndale House)