The alarm clock never went off. Your sleep was broken throughout the night and you feel like a steam roller ran over you. Skipping breakfast you run out of the door kicking the dog on the way to the car. Construction has your route to work at a standstill and you are already an hour late. As you sit there, you reflect on your weekend. Nothing went as planned. Called into work at the last minute on Saturday, your family picnic was canceled and so your day off was a day of work, frustrating work! A needless error shut down the computer network. Losing Saturday, you justified missing church Sunday morning which made it easy to blow off Sunday evening services as well. Trying to remember when you last prayed, your mind comes up with, “Wow, it has been a long time.”
If you have never had this type of moment, then you must not be human.
It is hard to maintain a daily relationship with Jesus Christ in a society that is work and pleasure driven. Few find it easy to develop a daily habit of setting aside a daily devotion time to meet with God through prayer and Bible study. One can not exist with out the other; else it would be a one sided conversation. God rarely speaks without us first coming to Him in prayer. When we do, the Word comes to life in a personal way through the pages of our Bibles. Together, these bring about an anointing and the Holy Ghost speaks to us.
In 1 Corinthians 15:31, the apostle Paul said to the church in Corinth, “I die daily.” This happened because Paul was immersed in prayer and Bible study. He lived an anointed life. Every member of the apostolic church has been called to an anointed life; that means you and me friend. Paul didn’t have the New Testament to guide him. He did however have the Old Testament and followed the words of David. If it has been a while since you have been brought to tears in prayer, then prayerfully read Psalm 51. Focus on the key verses of that Psalm below. Pray these verses.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” Psalms 51:10-13
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise”. Psalms 51:17
When we die daily, then we will have the contrite heart of David, a man after God’s own heart. This is the true and acceptable sacrifice before the Lord, and we will find favor with God.
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