Today's Passage - Psalm 5:1-6

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Psalms 5:1-6    Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.    The author was crying out to God here. Did you know that the Lord is happy to hear our prayers? Not only does He care about our thoughts and mind, He always pays attention to our words. When you pray, don't just pray quietly. Silent prayer usually has two possible outcomes: Either our mind begins to wander, or we fall asleep. When Jesus and the disciples were praying in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was praying out loud, and the disciples who prayed quietly fell asleep. We need to learn to pray out loud before God, and use words to cry out to God. Praying out loud will help us to focus your thoughts and mind; if you focus on God when you cry out, you will receive answer from Him.   The poet now only prayed to God out loud, he also made praying the first thing he did early in the morning. Perhaps you don't wake up early in the morning, but do you consider praying the most important task in your life? We don't pray because we don't need to depend on God; we think we can handle just about everything. Many people from the Third World having nothing, but they understand how to hold on to God. They cry out to God earnestly, and thus many signs and wonders follow them. In North American, we enjoy abundant material blessings, so people like to depend on themselves; we don't seek God and don't pray, so we don't experience nearly as many signs and wonders. May God help us, let our spirits be awake, so that we will get up early and depend on God every day.   Moreover, the Psalmist also lived according to God's will.   He didn't do things that God abhors, but only whatever pleases God. Brothers and sisters, you cannot cry out to God but at the same time do things that defy God's will. As we pray to seek God's help, we must also live in His will. When we cry out to God with all our heart, and live a life that is compatible with our prayer, we will experience God's salvation and protection!   Pray with Pastor Tong       Lord, we once again come before you with thanksgiving, because you are the God who listens to prayer. May the Lord help us to make praying our top priority in life, and let us follow your will. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!