A Prayer For Discernment

Grant to me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know, to love what I ought to love, to praise what delights you most, to value what is precious in your sight, to hate what is offensive to you. Do not suffer me to judge according to the sight of my eyes nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of the ears of ignorant men; but to discern with true judgment between things visible and spiritual, and above all things to enquire what is the good pleasure of your will.

-Thomas a Kempis (c. 1380-1471)

Personal Despair Ends in World-Class Praise

My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay my vows before those who fear Him.
All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. 
(Ps. 22:25,27)(NKJV)


How do you respond when everything in life seems to be going badly? Can you find any hope for good? In Psalm 22:1-18, David cried out to God with anxiety and despair. He felt:

• abandoned and helpless
• ignored
• despised and rejected
• ridiculed for his faith
• taunted by vicious enemies
• drained and on the verge of death; and
• surrounded by a murderous mob.

However, like Job at the end of his sufferings, David was able to affirm that God was still near and capable of delivering him (Ps. 22:19-20; compare Job 42:1-6). As a result, despite the injuries and insults he had suffered, he came back from the brink of despair. He was able to praise God before his family, his countrymen, and ultimately the entire world (Ps. 22:22-28).

To whom do you turn when things go badly? As with David, the God who created you wants to join with you in your worst times. He is willing to walk with you all the way through the "valley of the shadow of death" (Ps. 23:4).

(from the Word in Life Study Bible by Nelson Publishers)

Be Filled With the Spirit

"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18, 19)

Many explanations have been given concerning the Spirit-filled life. Some have been very helpful while a few are misleading. The idea is one of control. A man drunk with wine is under the control of the wine. He is controlled by a spirit foreign to himself and says and does many things he would not do when sober.

The Christian is not to be drunk with wine but is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. That is, he is to be under the absolute control of the Spirit of God. In His power he is to do and say things he never could do in his own strength. The disciples were weak, timid and fearful men until they were filled at Pentecost. Then they became fearless and powerful, speaking the Word with great boldness.

Our attention is called to four things about the verb filled. It is in the imperative mode, which is a command, for God knows we are helpless without this filling. It is in the present tense which stresses continuous action; this filling is to be a continuous thing. The verb is plural in number; it is for all, not just for a select group. Then it is passive voice which means this is something to be done in us. "Let yourself be being filled" is a good rendering. The Spirit's work is to produce Christian character (Gal. 5:22); Christian service (1 Cor. 12:4-11); and praise (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).

(Dr. R. H. Belton)

Walk Differently

Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts. (Eph. 4:17)(HCSB)

The word translated vanity is religious error, mirage, or illusion. The unbeliever may be very religious as were the people of Ephesus who were not Christians, but he is under an illusion. He is thinking that what he has is real when there is no reality in it. The unbeliever is under the illusion that he can save himself, that by his religious acts and good character he can make himself acceptable to God. He thinks of the cross as being foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18, 23). He is also under the illusion that sin is not a serious thing; in fact he has given himself over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But the Christian life has nothing to do with the former manner of living. The Christian is to put off the old man which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and he is to put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and holiness of truth (Eph. 4: 22, 24). The Christian life is a different life. It is characterized by holiness and righteousness. Paul urges his readers to let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from them. This is the blessed work of the Holy Spirit. When He is permitted to do this He is not grieved, but when these awful characteristics are allowed to remain in the life He is grieved. Let us obey the Scripture.

(Dr. R. H. Belton)

Heavenly Vision

"Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19)

One of the greatest lessons to be learned from the life of Paul was his obedience to the written and spoken Word. "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." It is one thing to receive a heavenly vision; it is another to obey what is seen or heard.

In this case, the apostle goes on to point out that the heavenly vision is "that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." To be true to his trust, he must preach the full counsel of God. And today, we must be equally diligent and conscientious in proclaiming the good news of the Gospel.

Our problem, largely, is that we have not heeded the instruction, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10). Hence, our vision is limited. We cannot obey when we have not yet heard. We cannot hear without a preacher, and too many times we are content with a limited diet of spiritual food. Oh, that we might "Search the scriptures," seeking the wisdom and blessing of God upon our lives!

"Trust and obey,

For there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and obey."

The heavenly vision will come to us in several ways: (1) through His inspired Word; (2) through the spoken word; (3) through intercession. When He thus speaks to us, what a tremendous responsibility it places upon us to obey! God will not lead us from one step to another in our Christian walk until we have learned to obey the first step. His will for our lives will be revealed only as He detects willingness to obey. May He find that in you and me today.

(by David R. Enlow)

The Lord Alone Is God

"Praise be to the Lord," Jethro said, "for he has saved you from the Egyptians and from Pharoah. He has rescued Israel from the power of Egypt! I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because his people have escaped from the proud and cruel Egyptians." (Exodus 18:10-11)(NLT)


Today we live in an age of pluralism where loyalty to one creed is condemned as intolerant. But we know Jethro's confession to be true that "the Lord is greater than all other gods." If we are not worshiping the Lord alone, then we are serving idols, for there is only one true God. Turn away from the false gods in your life today and worship our great God and heavenly King. He alone is worthy.


O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens. No one is greater than You, O God. We praise you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for you are the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of your people. We worship you, for you alone are God, and there is no other.

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

The Lord Wants Pure Worship

Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the merchants and their customers. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the stalls of those selling doves. He said, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be called a place of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" (Matthew 21:12-13)(NLT)


In an outburst of righteous anger, Jesus chased the merchants and money changers out of the Temple. They had been defiling the Temple by turning it into a marketplace and cheating those who had come to make offerings. Jesus' rebuke of such sinful Temple practices reminds us to guard our own worship against corruption. We must always keep God and his desires at the center of worship and never allow other motives to lead us astray.


HOLY GOD, thank you for calling and enabling us to worship you. Forgive us when we corrupt our worship with selfish motives, and give us the desire to please you. Amen.

(from the Praise and Worship Study Bible)

A Prayer of Repentance

O Lord, help us to turn and seek you; for you have not forsaken your creatures as we have forsaken you, our Creator. Let us turn and seek you, for we know you are here in our heart when we confess to you, when we cast ourselves upon you and weep in your bosom after all our rugged ways; and you gently wipe away our tears, and we weep more for joy; for you, Lord, who made us, do remake and comfort us.

-Saint Augustine (354-430)

God Accepts Genuine Worship

When Phinehas the priest and the high officials heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they were satisfied. Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, replied to them, "Today we know the Lord is among us because you have not sinned against the Lord as we thought. Instead, you have rescued Israel from being destroyed by the Lord." (Joshua 22:30-31)(NLT)

Israel's three tribes that lived east of the Jordan river built an altar at the edge of the Promised Land, just west of the river. This altar was not intended to separate the tribes but rather to bear witness that all the tribes served the same God. Still, there was misunderstanding. So it is today. Sometimes misunderstandings over worship practices can cause God's people to become divided. Even when the Lord is genuinely worshiped by several groups, disputes can flare up. Let us follow Israel's wise example and recognize that the Lord accepts genuine worship from his people even though it may be different from other believers' worship.

O GOD, you delight in all who worship you with pure hearts. We confess that many times we have allowed differing styles of worship to divide your church. Purify our heart so that we might offer worship that pleases you. We thank you for the diversity of your people, which opens our eyes to a greater vision of you. Amen.

(from the Praise and Worship Study Bible)

A Prayer for a Steadfast Heart

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downward; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

--Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)