Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 18:1-10
Ps 18:1-10
Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
When life tumbles in on us, we pray to God for help. When disaster or tragedy hits us, we turn to God for help. When life is unfair and things seem to be working against us, we ask God to deliver us. But how many times do we give him thanks when everything smooths out, when things fall into place, or when we are healed of our diseases? While we cannot define the work of God in our lives or in the world around us, we can logically see how he answers so many of our prayers.
It seems to me that it is never appropriate to give thanks to God for the good things that happen in our lives. He does hear us and he does answer our prayers, so we need to recognize his work and thank him for it. One lady said she would much rather err on the side of giving God the glory and thanksgiving when it was just coincidence than to not thank him when he has delivered us. I agree with her.
Prayer is not to be a last resort for us. We need to be in constant communication with our Father and with Jesus our brother, so that it is never a stretch for us to tell them about what is happening to us. When we are constantly thanking him for the good things and the blessings we enjoy, it is normal for us to ask for his help in times of stress, trouble, hurt and need. Our God is a wonderful God!
O Lord God, my Father in heaven, holy and reverend is your name in all the earth, and in heaven above. Your blessings in my life are because of your love for me and your grace shown toward me. I know that every good thing from you is because of your nature, not because I deserve it or have earned it. Thank you for all you do for me every day. Use me to help others and to share what you have given to me. Keep me from being selfish. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
