Day 1: 31 Days of Prayer

Day 1: 31 Days of Prayer

Verse:

Psalm 145 (TB) 1 A psalm of praise of David. I will exalt You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2  Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3  Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is beyond searching out. 4  One generation shall commend Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. 5  I will sing of the glorious splendor of Your majesty and of Your wondrous works. 6  They shall proclaim the power of Your awesome deeds, and I will tell of Your greatness. 7  They shall celebrate the memory of Your abundant goodness, and they shall shout for joy over Your righteousness. 8  The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in steadfast love. 9  The LORD is good to all, and His mercy rests on all He has made. 10 All that You have made shall give thanks to You, O LORD, and those who love You shall bless You. 11  They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and tell of Your power, 12  to make known Your mighty acts to the children of men, and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. 13  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful in all His words and full of steadfast love in all His works. 14  The LORD upholds all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. 15  The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due season; 16  You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing according to Your good pleasure. 17  The LORD is righteous in all His ways and full of steadfast love in all His works. 18  The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. 19  He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him, hears their cry for help, and saves them. 20  The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. 21  My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.

Reflection:

A life of prayer is not something easily attained. If it were easy, then Christians ought to have a good prayer life that keeps bearing fruit. For most people, that is not the case. In my own life, prayer is something that can very easily turn into a "need something" practice. I am busy. There are many important things I have to do. Why waste time praying when I could do something and make a real difference? God already knows what I am thinking, so why should I tell Him? Isn't that excessive? God does not care about what I am going through. These issues are not really "prayer problems." People who find it hard to maintain a life of prayer may say that this struggle happens to all Christians as well. I am convinced that statement only touches the surface of the tip of the iceberg. We may become angry with God and not want to involve Him in the decision-making process. Perhaps we have grown tired of praying for the same thing again and again because we have not received the response we hoped for. Whatever the reason is that you do not pray, this psalm is here to remind us of the reasons we must keep praying.

Challenge:

Read again the prayer psalm above. Read each verse and pray to the Lord with a sincere heart. "I will exalt You, my God, O King." This is the first verse. Are you willing to exalt the Lord? Do you truly praise His name forever? Ask yourself questions about every statement in those verses. What is the glorious splendor people speak of that David's psalm means? What promises has the Lord made that make Him trustworthy? As you read that passage, allow God to change your heart, and ask Him to increase your faith in the power of prayer.

Translated from the article “31 Days of Prayer: Day 1” by Daniel Berk