Tuesday, January 11, 2022
CONSISTENT PRAYER!
Ps 5:1-3
5 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my
meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and
my God: for unto thee will I pray.
3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O
Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and
will look up.
Ps 55:17
17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I
pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
The regular times of
prayer were the
third (morning sacrifice), sixth, and ninth hours (evening sacrifice). So
prayer was commonly offered at 9am, noon, and 3pm. When threatened regarding
his praying, Daniel “kneeled upon his knees three times a day,
and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
The common posture for
praying was standing. In Luke 18 we read
that two men went up into the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other
was a hated Publican. Both stood! The Pharisee stood near, and the Publican
stood “afar off.” Their positions were actually reversed in God’s eyes. The one
standing afar off was made nigh by his prayer while the other was rebuffed for
his pride.
The more urgent the
need, the more
humble the posture of prayer. First the one praying would pray standing, then
kneeling, and finally prostration. The hands would be lifted up and spread out
in emptiness and pleading. “Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto
thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.” Ps 28:2
Discipline will make our prayer consistent. Circumstance
will make our prayer urgent!
Dear Lord, let me be a man of regular and
consistent prayer so that when circumstances make my prayer more urgent, I will
not fumble clumsily for words nor approach you like a stranger. AMEN
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