LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Tuesday 2nd November 2021
DIRECTING OUR PRAYERS
Scripture Reading: Psalm 5
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. Psalm 5:3
The words “In the morning” are repeated in this verse for emphasis. It shows us that communing with God was the first thing on the mind of the Psalmist when he awoke from sleep. His eagerness to first reach out to God in prayer is clear.
I will direct my prayer to you. The psalmist indicated that he would ‘direct’ his prayer to the Lord. The word that is translated as ‘direct’ means “to arrange or set something in order”. It is a word that described how the priest prepared the altar before the sacrifice each day. It was also used to depict how the shew bread was set out on the table in the Holy Place.
We learn from this passage, that as was done in the Tabernacle, so must we also set our prayer in order before the Lord. As Christians we must present our prayer in an appropriate manner. In order to do so:
• We must pray according to God’s word. The Word is God’s voice speaking to us. It must be the foundation of our prayers, informing and guiding us on what we say. To pray according to God’s word is to agree with what He has said and promised.
• We must pray with trust in God’s faithfulness. His name backs up His promises. It is God’s character to be faithful. We must believe this truth and approach Him with faith in Him and not ourselves if we are to succeed in arranging our prayers well.
• We must pray by the authority of the name of Jesus. His name unlocks every door. It is His name that grants us access to God’s presence. It is praying in Jesus’ name that gives us assurance that we have audience with the Lord.
Applying these keys, will help us arrange our prayers well when we go before the Lord.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are faithful in all your ways. I come before you, fully confident that you hear me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.