Devotions - Tuesday, May 13, 2008

East Heights Daily Devotional
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Psalm 100
  Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
  Worship the LORD with gladness;
       come before him with joyful songs.
  Know that the LORD is God.
       It is he who made us, and we are his;
       we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
  Enter his gates with thanksgiving
       and his courts with praise;
       give thanks to him and praise his name.
  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
       his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Music to God’s Ears

When someone says “that’s music to my ears” we know they mean it is good news and they are happy to hear it. Sometimes prayer is referred to as music to God’s ears. That’s because God is always delighted to hear from us in prayer. Occasionally I hear people complain that their prayer life seems stale and they feel that they pray the same prayers over and over. Others say that it’s hard to find the words to express what’s on their heart – sometimes the words just don’t seem to come.

I have spent some time lately making prayer shawls for Annual Conference of the Kansas East & West Conferences of the Methodist Church which occurs later this month.  Last week as I prayed for pastors and worked on a shawl, I found myself echoing these sentiments - I didn’t feel like praying and the words didn’t come easily but with Conference coming up soon, I should persist.  I decided to just be quiet for a while as I worked. After a bit I put on a worship CD and continued to work as I listened to hymns and songs of praise. A short time went by and all of a sudden I realized my spirits had soared and I was praying the words of these wonderful songs of faith. I was lifting up to God, words, phrases, and images, for our pastors. It was no longer an act of discipline, but a delightful time spent with God.  The words of the hymns had enriched and inspired my prayers and I was deeply moved and blessed by this time spent with God praying for his blessings, his wisdom, and his protection for our pastors.   

Not all hymns are prayers – some teach, testify, or inspire. But many are simply written prayers that need little or no alteration to be used as an aid to prayer. To start, select hymns that speak directly to God. You may want to speak the hymn instead of singing it. Some hymns lend themselves to personalization, so don’t be shy about putting yourself in there.  You may choose to meditate on a particular line or word of the song, or look for hymns that are drawn directly from scripture. The Psalms are found in our hymnal. Read Psalm 100 above as a prayer.

Prayer:   Pray these words of “Breathe on Me, Breath of God” by Edwin Hatch, repeating them several times. Allow yourself to be drawn deeper into the sentiment of the hymn as you pray.

Breathe on me, breath of God
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.

Devotions this week are written by:

Beth Strickler
Director of Prayer  Ministries, East Heights United Methodist Church
Beth@ehumc.org / 682-6518
www.ehumc.org