Falling Fire

Falling Fire

June 14, 2012

Psalm 5: 1-3 (New Living Translation)
"O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning.  Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you.  Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.  Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly."

I have read this Psalm many times, and I am always struck by this simple truth: when we are in need, whatever that may be, we can seek God and know He will hear them.  That's important, you know - if God wasn't able to, or didn't wish to, hear our prayers, then everything is different.  But now, read this same passage in "The Message" version:

"Listen, God!  Please, pay attention!  Can you make sense of these ramblings, my groans and cries?  King-God, I need your help.  Every morning you'll hear me at it again.  Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend"

What a picture!  Coming before the Lord in prayer, taking all of the things of our life and giving them over to Him - each day!  And not only giving them over to God, but waiting for something to happen!  Something BIG to happen... in fact, waiting for FIRE TO FALL!  Waiting for God to do something BIG with what we give to Him - imagine...

Imagine, if you will, that we are actually willing to completely turn all our 'stuff' over to God!  Then imagine, if you will, that we will actually wait expectantly for Him to do something!  Did you hear what I said?  Wait expectantly... as in not expecting something to happen right now, or momentarily, or even in a couple of minutes, but rather at some point of God's choosing.  And not only waiting expectantly (patiently?), but waiting for God to show His stuff, what He can do with the pieces of our lives.  I mean, doesn't this almost blow your mind?  The God of all creation, hearing my prayer, and then dramatically revealing Himself to me.  You heard me correctly - as we give ourselves up before God, He will show Himself to us, often in ways we may not expect nor even imagine. 

Later on in Psalms, we read of this:

Psalm 88:13
"O Lord, I cry out to you.  I will keep on pleading day by day". 

Psalm 130:5
"I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on Him.  I have put my hope in His Word"

Not only will God hear us, but He will also respond to us, as we are faithful to Him and give ourselves to Him.  All this comes from spending time with God, and expecting Him to 'be faithful as we are faithful'.  So I ask...

- Do you have a time, perhaps early in the day, when you get together with God?
- If so, do you give yourself up to Him, surrender your will to His will?
- Do you expect 'fire to fall' when you give your life up to Him?

As you spend time with God, and as you come to turn more and more over to Him, you will be amazed at what happens - God will reveal Himself more and more to you, in ways you might never have imagined.  So come before Him, but don't rush things - wait expectantly, as David says, and see what God is able to do...

Pastor Ed