“¹Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.” – Psalm 51:1 (ESV)

I have studied the above verse a number of times and each time related to mercy. This morning as I study “steadfast”, I see that God wants us to be aware of His steadfast love for us. His love is firmly fixed, immovable, and not subject to change as I have noted according to Merriam-Webster, and we should be grateful for it. But that is not where it ends.

I have to be accustomed to asking for God’s steadfast love in my life. I cannot just receive it once and take the approach of “all’s good”. I have to reach out to Him and ask for His continuance of granting His steadfast love to me. It is not that He has taken it away, it is just that through my asking I am acknowledging its existence and most importantly acknowledging to God of my devotion to Him.

I should seek mercy, yes, for I am a sinner and will continue to be a sinner. But as noted in our example to prayer from Jesus, we should be acknowledging the greatness of God and asking for His will to continue being done and thanking Him for the provisions in our lives. It is all of these points that demonstrate our asking for the steadfast love of God in our lives.

I ask right now for God to provided his steadfast love in my life for now and evermore. I will ask again later today and again tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. I am in need of it and know that God will provide, but I still need to ask.

When you think of God’s steadfast love, when do you ask for it? Are you asking continually? What if you were to ask for the steadfast love of God each and every day?

“¹Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. ²Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test y heart and my mind. ³For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.” – Psalm 26:1-3 (ESV)

The love of God, His steadfast love, is for me to remember at all times. His steadfast love is firmly fixed and immovable, which indicates that it is forever. Since it is forever, I owe forever to the remembrance of it. I have to be as committed to the Lord as He is to me.

As I was studying, I read in my ESV commentary for the passage that “the faithful…as a general pattern of life…have trusted in the LORD without wavering”. As I profess to be a follower of Christ, I have to have that same approach. I have to love the Lord as He has loved me, forever. I have to be in the business of being the example for all and “keeping” in His commandments and His love out in front of me for all to see.

God has provided a love for me that never fails. I have to do the same for Him. I know that I will fail, but I my love should be for Him at all times and I should be acting on that love for Him. As I do, I will move every closer to the trusting of “the LORD without wavering”.

When you love the Lord, is that love forever? Are you loving and keeping the Lord’s love for your needed “moments” in life? What if we focused on loving and continuing to love our Lord as He loves us?

Steadfast – 1a: firmly fixed in place: IMMOVABLE b: not subject to change – Merriam-Webster Online

Looking at the dictionary definition of a word helps with the depth of understanding. Here the word “steadfast” is given more depth than just my mental note of something strong. As noted above, “firmly fixed”, “immovable”, and “not subject” really indicate more than strength. It tells of the permanence of what is being described.

“⁹You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ¹⁰but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” – Deuteronomy 5:9-10 (ESV)

Moses is giving more depth here to the ten commandments given by God in Exodus. He is giving us all of what is meant and in these two verses, telling the ugly truth of the cost of serving other than God and the beautiful truth of when His commandments are kept.

I read this morning and study, I see the promise of the coming of Christ as He says “showing steadfast love to thousands”. There is a footnote to the word “thousands” here in my bible that indicates “or to the thousandth generation”. So the number is not a somehow finite one, but one that goes on for ever. Knowing what we know now, I can see the promise of Christ’s coming as I see the love that God has for me so many generations after this time.

This is the “steadfast” love noted in verse 10. God’s love is permanent. It is “firmly fixed”, it is “immovable”, it is “not subject to change”. It is for all generations. God’s love is for all that follow Him and “keep” his commandments. The best part is that with the promise of Jesus, we are assured of the opportunity to “keep” those commandments through the forgiveness that comes with our full repentance of the sins against God.

What is your understanding of the God’s Love? Are you aware that it is for all generations? What if we accepted God’s love as “firmly fixed”, “immovable”, and “not subject to change”?

This is such the important part of praying. We have to be vested in the prayer and believe fully that it will and does work to accomplish the goals and work of God.

“¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” – James 5:13-15 (ESV)

I wonder if I have been just going through the motions in my prayer. Have I been just saying the words without fully believing. I have had those instances where it feels like God was just not listening as I did not get the result I wanted.

Well, that is where I am wrong. I should be looking for God to do His will and not take the action I want. I have to fully remember that it is not my will but that of God the Father that I should be praying for and expecting. I will not know what God has planned, only that I should be praying for his will. Notice the verses above and that they are simply indicating prayer and that they will be saved, not that they will be made well here in this world, but that they will be saved. I have to remember that it is not the action that I want, but the action that God has planned for the person. I am here to lift them up to God.

My faith is what give a chance. It is my belief that God will act. I am not doing anything other that bringing to God. I am providing that faithful intercession that will give them a chance. I have to be open to God’s work and not presume to know, but bring them to God anyway.

When you pray, what are you praying for? Are you looking for God to act out in the way you want? What if we prayed with faith that God would take action in His best interest as opposed to ours?

What a statement as we move into the day. “Pray Always” means just that.

“¹⁷pray without ceasing,” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Paul did not waver in his letters for the Christian communities. Here in Thessalonians he makes it clear to pray always. And in Colossians he tells of his endless prayer for them.

“⁹And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,” – Colossians 1:9 (ESV)

And the subject of the prayer in verse 9 above is that of “spiritual wisdom and understanding”. Too often I have prayed for more physical and monetary things, which may not be all wrong, but Paul reminds that the prayer for knowledge, wisdom, and understanding should be those prayers that are always being prayed.

I pray daily and still that may not be enough as I have to look at whether I am always praying. I know that I pray every morning as I sit down and study God’s word, but am I praying at all times. I am not as confident.

I am reminded this morning to be always praying. My prayer does not have to long and complicated as we see those in public. It should be a conversation and quick reference with God on that which pops up needing my intercession to God. I am to be the one that brings to God at all times and not a prescribed time when everyone is watching. Prayer is a private thing between me and God and when others are the subject of my prayer, I should include them also.

When you pray, when and how often are you? Are you taking all day to commune with God? What if we were to pray always and not just at the prescribed times in public?

The passage I am reading and studying this morning is in 1 Corinthians 14. Here Paul is writing of the differences of prophecy and speaking in tongues. I have heard of those that speak in tongues are engaging with God on a really personal level. They are so deep in worship that they are unintelligible to those around them. This passage helped me to understand the value and detriment of speaking in tongues.

“¹⁰There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none without meaning, ¹¹but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.” – 1 Corinthians 14:10-11 (ESV)

The speaking of tongues is meant for the communication between one and God. This is not to say that it is not worth listening to, but if I do not understand what is being said by one speaking, then there is no value in the words being spoken, to me. I remember speaking with a friend and she revealed to me that the first time she picked up God’s word and opened to read, despite being written in the language she is fluent in, she was unable to decipher what was written as it appeared to her to be written in a different language entirely. As such, the Word of God was of no use to her as she was unable to read for herself and study to gain even more knowledge.

“¹³Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. ¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. ¹⁵What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.” – 1 Corinthians 14:13-15 (ESV)

There is a distinct purpose for the speaking in tongues, and Paul writes that he is thankful to be able to speak in tongues. But, if the understanding of the words spoken are unintelligible, then they are of no use to the building up of those around me. It is my duty to bring the gospel to those around me in a way that they are able to understand and being built up.

I should be engaged in prayer for the same as noted in the verses above. I am responsible to the building up of others. I still should take the time and the action to commune with God whether in tongues or not, but I also have the responsibility to share with those around me in interpretation or in words they understand so they are built up and grow closer to God. By the way, when my friend understood and became a follower of Christ, she was able to read the Bible and has grown in her faith, being built up, every since.

When you speak, are you speaking to be heard or understood? Are you growing in faith and expecting others to grow and learn the same way you do? What if we prayed and spoke to build up others as opposed to being heard?

I am sure that much like me, there are times where you have encountered a situation where you had no idea of what to say. Whether one of heartache or jubilation, words have escaped you as you engage with others in the situation. Even in our prayer, we will find ourselves not knowing what to pray about.

“²⁶Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” – Romans 8:26 (ESV)

I am just to pray. Ask God to hear my prayer, and pray. Speak with Him to let Him know that I am here and am in need. Yes, He already knows, but as I was reminded in my study of the word “pray”, I need to ask Him to hear me, not for Him, but for me. I need to just sit down and continue to commune with God to maintain the relationship with Him.

In verse 26 above, Paul reminds me that the Holy Spirit will give me the words to say, if not out loud, at least so that God will hear. I am just to open up and begin speaking with God. I follow the example given to me by Jesus in Matthew 6. I start there with each prayer and the Holy Spirit will open my heart to let what needs to be communicated to God, to be communicated. I only need to pray and God will hear me and address that which I pray for.

So when I find myself in the situation where I don’t know what to say, I just need to engage and allow God to hear me and address the situation as He sees fit.

When you are sitting down to pray, what do you pray for? Do you avoid prayer because you don’t know what to say? What if you were to just pray anyway following the model give by Jesus and allow God to hear you?

I believe that too often, we ask to gather as opposed to learn.

“¹Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’” – Luke 11:1 (ESV)

This passage teaches the same model of prayer that is found in Matthew 6:9, except that here you see the disciples asking for the model of prayer. This full passage, Luke 11:1-13, is about asking and receiving. Jesus uses the simple ask for the model of prayer to teach of the importance of asking.

As I have mentioned a number of times, my career is corporate training and one of the things I make very clear is that it is important to ask questions that you need answers to. If you do not ask, you have very little if any chance at learning the answers. The key word in that last sentence is “learning”. There are ways of acquiring the learning that you are looking for such as seeking it out for yourself, recalling and applying things from the past, and asking to get answers from those that are in the position to know.

There are those that can teach us and it is a good idea to go to them when we find ourselves in need. Jesus is that one that can teach us and therefore we should seek answers from Him. Prayer is that way to ask and get answers. No, He may not tell you what it is you are wanting or needing to know, it may be that He just simply leads and guides you to where you can find the answers. His word is a great place to start looking before, during, and after asking. There we can find all of the answers, as God’s word is our manual to navigating our time in this world. But, it is important to remember that just looking in God’s word for the answers is not going to provide what we need, as you can see in the model prayer that Jesus has provided for us, in Luke and in Matthew, we have to ask for provision to learn and then work to apply them to the tasks of doing the work God has for us.

When you are seeking answers, where are you looking? Are you just looking or are you asking? What if we asked God for the answers and then allowed Him to guide us?

I struggle and will likely continue to struggle with the fact that I do for others and continue to, in some cases, do the work they were tasked with doing, only to not receive any acknowledgment or even a thank you. I am human and require to be at least acknowledged for the work I do.

“³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods, do not demand them back.” – Luke 6:30 (ESV)

Jesus reminds me here that my job is to continue to give. To continue doing for others without the expectation of return. I have to be the “bigger” person and continue to be the example that He has given me.

This passage is titled “Love Your Enemies”, and as I do know that to be the actions I am to take, it is not easy. Jesus knows this to be true and that is why he has provided his guiding word. To love you enemies is also found in Matthew chapter 5. I even studied and wrote about the passage here titled, “Pray Even for Those Against You”. So this is something that God really wants me to be looking at in my life.

I am only a man that is trying to live my kingdom purpose and can only seek the guidance from God in my life. I am grateful for the opportunity that He has given me to do His work. I have to remember the words from this passage and especially verses 35 and 36.

“³⁵But love you enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting noting in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. ³⁶Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” – Luke 6:35-36 (ESV)

You see, I am to be giving and loving with all I come in contact with. I am to bring the word of God to all, regardless of their relationship or treatment to me. I have to remember that they truly may not know and it is my role to educate them and most importantly pray for and love them.

When you look at the way you are treated, how do you react to those that are against you? Are you willing and able to continue giving in spite of what you may have returned to you? What if you simply loved those against you, praying and giving to them without the expectation of reciprocation?

Question this morning. Have you fallen asleep while reading or doing some other sedentary activity? I know that I have, on a great number of occasions. I lie down in bed to sleep for the night and take on reading only to find myself 20 minutes later on the same page. It seems as though my brain has just given up and disconnected to allow for rest.

This morning I was led to the passage in Matthew 26 of Jesus praying in Gethsemane. He knew that His time was about at hand and was taking this opportunity to pray to God, His Father, about the very action and to ask what could be done. With Him He took Peter, James, and John. He asked them to stay behind and keep watch as He went on a bit further to pray in private to God.

“³⁸Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.’” – Matthew 26:38 (ESV)

Notice even the word was to keep “watch” and not just wait. They were to be doing work and not just waiting for Jesus return. And when He did return, what did He find, but the men asleep. And so, He coached them to again keep “watch and pray”.

“⁴¹Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” – Matthew 26:41 (ESV)

And Jesus went back to pray more. And returned to find them asleep once again. This time He left them alone and went again to pray. And upon His return, they were sleeping once again and this time as Jesus had completed His prayer time, he gave them additional coaching as the four of them moved on.

“⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.’” – Matthew 26:45-46 (ESV)

What I am seeing here is that Jesus was letting the disciples know that there is a time for rest and a time for action. While He was praying to the Father, they were given the opportunity to do the same. No doubt they were tired from the journey and work they were doing with Jesus. He was able to stay with it and pray, and therefore the disciples should have been able to as well.

I believe that we all have good intentions and want to do everything for God. I know that I do. The thing is that I am human and will wear down. But, I have to remember that there is a time for rest and a time for work. Now is the time for work. Sometimes that work may simply be preparing and asking for guidance from God and that may be the most important work of all. It is in that work that we should dedicate our time to Him and take rest when He makes it possible once our work is done. Pray now, rest later.

When you are praying, what is your focus on the action of praying? Are you finding yourself drifting off into a period of rest? What if we treated prayer as action and preparation for more physical work later and took rest when we are done?