May the Lord answer you when you are in
distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May He send you help
from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
May He remember all your sacrifices and
accept your burnt offerings.
May He give you the desire of your heart and
make all your plans succeed.
We will shout for joy when you are
victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests. Psalm
20:1-5 NIV
Have you been reading
along with the Daily Bible Reading
schedule? Today’s scripture includes Psalm 20 and verse 4 is a favorite of mine… May
He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
What is the desire of
your heart? Many times David was in distress and the Lord answered his
prayer—so he is telling us to do the same. What sacrifices are you—or have you
made? Of course David lived at a time when animal sacrifices were still being
done—but even when David sinned against God in his adultery with Bathsheba (see
2 Samuel 11-12) he only admitted his guilt to God through the prophet, Nathan.
He didn’t offer a burnt offering sacrifice, but the death of his son was the
punishment. David prayed Psalm 51.
Be gracious
to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; According to the greatness of
Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin….
Create in me
a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me
away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me
the joy of Thy salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will
teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee….
The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God,
Thou will not despise. Psalm 51:1-2, 10-13, 17.
Is your sacrifice a
repentant and contrite heart?
For you to seek the
desire of your heart, you must have a plan, purpose, a desire, something that
you want. Do you have a plan? One of my favorite sayings is: You don’t plan to fail…You fail to plan.
Plans are essential to accomplish anything in life. As our lives go by
increasingly faster each year it is good to know where we are going. What is it
you want to do in the next five years, in the next year, in the next
month…tomorrow? Is spiritual growth high on your priorities list? What are you
going to do to reach that goal?
Prayer
~ Lord, guide our thoughts, hearts, and minds that we would set and
intentionally strive for spiritual
goals. We want to live lives pleasing to You—and we recognize that we have to not
only have that desire—but be ready to put it into action serving You.
Daily
Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 20
©
2017 Text and photo by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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