Prayer – Lord, who besides You hasn’t been overwhelmed at some point in their life? Of course, the last couple of years have been challenging…but You’ve been there with us all the time, just as You promised. “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Thanks. You are awesome. I so appreciate just knowing that You are with us, You hear our prayers, and I am trusting You for answers for me, my friends, and for Israel—as we patiently waiting for Your return. I praise You!
A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out
problems before the LORD.
LORD, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea! Don't turn
away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly
when I call to you. For my days disappear like smoke, and my bones burn like
red-hot coals. My heart is sick, withered like grass, and I have lost my
appetite. Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones. I am like an
owl in the desert, like a little owl in a far-off wilderness. I lie awake,
lonely as a solitary bird on the roof. My enemies taunt me day after day. They
mock and curse me. I eat ashes for food. My tears run down into my drink
because of your anger and wrath. For you have picked me up and thrown me out.
My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like
grass. But you, O LORD, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure
to every generation. You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem—and now is the
time to pity her, now is the time you promised to help. For your people love
every stone in her walls and cherish even the dust in her streets. Then the
nations will tremble before the LORD. The kings of the earth will tremble
before his glory. For the LORD will rebuild Jerusalem. He will appear in his
glory. He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their
pleas. Let this be recorded for future generations, so that a people not yet
born will praise the LORD. Tell them the LORD looked down from his heavenly
sanctuary. He looked down to earth from heaven to hear the groans of the
prisoners, to release those condemned to die. And so the LORD's fame will be
celebrated in Zion, his praises in Jerusalem, when multitudes gather together
and kingdoms come to worship the LORD. He broke my strength in midlife, cutting
short my days. But I cried to him, "O my God, who lives forever, don't
take my life while I am so young! Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever;
they will wear out like old clothing. You will change them like a garment and
discard them. But you are always the same; you will live forever. The children
of your people will live in security. Their children's children will thrive in
your presence." Psalm 102:1-28
Meditate. What does it mean to “perish?”
This Psalmist is in such a sorry condition, distressed by
his enemies. Miserable. But he recognizes that the Lord is eternal—He will sit on
His throne forever! Forever. Think of it. Forever is well beyond our comprehension. And He will always be the same.
I love knowing that the Lord will have mercy on Jerusalem…and
on His chosen people. When I searched for my ancestors, I was hoping to find
that I had some Jewish roots—but alas, I did not! I so wanted to be Jewish. I
am overjoyed to know that God has adopted me into His family because I believe
in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as my Lord and Savior.
For all who are led
by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit
that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he
adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." For
his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Romans
8:14-16
Read all of Romans 8 for more encouragement from God. Abba,
Father. That term endears my heart to my God—my Heavenly Father, Abba.
Do you feel the same way?
 |
| Women's side of the Wailing Wall Jerusalem Men and Women pray separately at the Wall. |
Having stood at the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing
Wall, I recall the respectful quiet of that place. Everyone was there to pray—offering
their petitions to our God. Those immensely huge, smooth stones form a wall
that is the only original part of the Temple Mount of the two Temples built for
God on that site and then destroyed in 586 BCE and 70 AD in the Old City of
Jerusalem. According to the Jerusalem Post, more than two million people visited
the Wailing Wall during the holidays last month. That is a lot of people! It is one
of the most popular places to visit for Jews and Christians on any pilgrimage
to Jerusalem. It is a custom to write your prayer requests on paper, and then stuff
those papers into the cracks between the blocks of the wall. I did just that
when I visited the Wailing Wall—as I prayed for my family and friends, as well
as for myself. It was a humbling experience knowing that I prayed near where a
magnificent Temple designed by God once stood. God
heard my prayers, just like He has heard the prayers of the destitute in this
Psalm. He will not reject their pleas, mine, or yours. He is the loving Abba Father.
I am overwhelmed with His love.
Verse of Salvation ~ But may all who search for you
be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation
repeatedly shout, "The LORD is great!" Psalm 40:16
Memory Verse of the Week ~ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 KJV
It is November – consider daily: What are you Thankful for today?
© 2022 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Outside
of the United Kingdom, the KJV is in the public domain. Within the United
Kingdom, the rights to the KJV are vested in the Crown.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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