Private Praise!

Ephesians 5:18-20

.... but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Many times we think that in order to praise our Father, we must jump and shout and be directed by some pastor, elder or other Church leader. We are told when to stand, what to say, when to sit and when to shout! But, there is a place where we can all go that is filled with songs, singing and thanks! That place is within our hearts.

You see, it is the heart that the Father sees. It is the heart that determines what kind of person we are. Yet, our hearts are not seen by men. True, they may see a reflection of our hearts through our works, but no one truely knows our hearts but the Father.

When we decide to give God praise, He looks at our hearts. Some of the best praises I've ever had have been silent. I simply reflect on the magnificence of our God and I get stirred up on the inside. Before I know it, I'm singing, I'm praying, I'm rejoicing, I'm thanking - and it's all in my heart! It's just me and my Father in communion! There is no need for external helps. He has given us all we need to praise him in an optimum way!

So, I will give Him praise today! It is my own private praise! And I will do it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! I thank YAH for the opportunity! Peace and blessings be upon you!

Sincere Prayer

Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. Psalm 54:2

Someone told me that it had been so long since they prayed and they had done so much wrong, they wondered if God would hear them. I told them that God hears all who pray to him in sincerity. He hears those who pray in spirit and in truth.

With this in mind, I judged myself. I thought about my many hurried prayers over the years before I jumped into bed because I was cold or tired or just following my nightly ritual. The obligatory prayers before a meal - done more out of habit than faith. I even thought about the rehearsed prayers before an audience or prayers to "move" a congregation.

We must know that these are not prayers. Prayer must be sincere. Prayer must be from the spirit. Prayer must be in truth. We have to go within and without ourselves, so that God is our true focus. All those prayers that I thought I did didn't count because they were false. God can never accept that. When we or others pray to gain the attention or acceptance of man, those prayers are not accepted.

We must pray to The Father in the way that The Son taught us. It must come from the heart. We must sincerely seek The Father! Some of the sincerest prayers have only contained two familiar words that are often called in distress: "God, help!"

Tonight, when I pray, I will pray in sincerity. I know it matters not how long I pray. It matters not, what position I pray in. What matters is that I seek to spend time in prayer with my Father and your Father in heaven!

May the Peace of God rest upon you!

Perfection and the Heart

Whenever we do something wrong or fall short, we love to say, "Well, I'm not perfect!" The truth is, if we aren't perfect, it's only because we choose not to be. Clearly the Bible tells us that we can be perfect. Remember what God told Abraham in Genesis 17:1"...walk before me, and be thou perfect."

It also states in Deuteronomy 18:13 "Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God."

Matthew 5:48 states: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

The problem, I think, is in the interpretation of perfect. Most of us think of perfect as never making a mistake and doing everything well. When The Father looks for perfection, He looks at the heart:

I Kings 8:61 says, "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day."

God wants our hearts to be perfect. This is why Jesus spoke so much on the importance of us loving The Father and loving one another. The wonderful thing about loving God and His commandments and statutes is that it enables us to love one another even more. We must keep guard over our heart and make sure that it does not get polluted with predjudices, judgment, hate, envy, pride, strife covetousness, idolatry and the cares of this world. We should all strive to be perfect like Abraham, Job and Jesus. We can be perfect if our heart is perfect - at least in the eyes of The Father. Isn't that all that matters?

Much love, peace and blessings to you!