Praise Prayer

by Drason

1 Samuel 2

Hannah’s Prayer
My heart rejoices in the Lord;
In the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
For I delight in your deliverance.

There is no one holy like the Lord;
There is no one besides you;
There is no rock like our God. (Now I can’t get that song out of my head.)

Do not keep talking so proudly
Or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
For the Lord is a God who knows
And by Him deeds are weighed.

The bows of the warriors are broken,
But those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
But those who were hungry hunger no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
But she who has had many sons pines away.

The Lord brings death and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and raises up.
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
He humbles and He exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust and
Lifts the needy from the ash heap;
He seats them with princes
And has them inherit a throne of honor.

For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
Upon them He has set the world.
He will guard the feet of the saints,
But the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

It is not by strength that one prevails;
Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered.
He will thunder against them from heaven;
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

He will give strength to his King
And exalt the horn of His anointed.

Man, we just don’t pray like this anymore. When we pray we usually ask for something. We don’t just pray to praise. There is a paper in Billie’s class that says
C-confess
H-honor
A-ask
T-thank
I was always taught to thank first, then ask, then praise (honor), and to confess somewhere in there if needed. How about just praising? What if every time I called one of my friends it was to ask them for something? Never to just see how they were doing, or to tell them how much I liked them, but just to ask for something? Would they think I loved them? Would they think I cared about them? No. They would probably start wishing that I wouldn’t call. Thankfully God isn’t like that, but I bet He wishes we would just pray for Him every once in a while and not just pray to ask for things. Every once in a while, when everyone is out of the house or wrapped up doing their own things so they don’t interrupt me, I like to just sit down and talk to God about things, just like I would talk to a friend. Nothing necessarily about my life or what I should or shouldn’t do, just talk. About world events, things that are happening in my life, how He is doing, what He is thinking, etc… I am sure He dumbs down His end of the conversation for me, but I really like it. And I am sure He does too. I know this sounds a little feminine but I like to talk. I enjoy talking to Amanda, and Mac, and Marshal, and Mason, and Sam, and Fritz, and Michael, and my grandma, and God. It is nice to have that kind of relationship with Him that I can do that. I think He likes it too.

God, you are the God of justice;
You lift up the deserving and tear down the corrupt.
You are the only righteous judge.

You know everything and see every deed and intention.
Through your wisdom the earth was created. Through Your love are we made whole.
You know every act ever committed, and you lift up and tear down as You see fit.

You are the Lord Almighty. You are the Alpha and Omega. You are the redeemer.
You are.

You are an unblemished lamb and a roaring lion;
The Lord of all that was and is and ever will be.
You give and you take;
You are gentle and strong,
You are the best and see the worst.
Lord, You are my God.
Amen.

Costly friend

Buy some Rogaine - you need some more hair on your head to be attractive, appealing, or even successful

Watch the latest Adam Sandler movie - in theaters soon

***** Financial - spend you money, spend, spend, spend - use the *****Card and get cash back bonus awards

Would you keep around a friend who talked to you like this? Who constantly promoted some new product, service, and made comments like "only the very best people have this - do you have this?" Of course not! But my stupid TV is blaring these messages all the time. The kid channels are worse - less subtle than the adult version of a once bald man now surrounded by babes. The kids channel comes right out and says you're not cool if you don't have this amazing toy, the coolest shoes, the latest video gaming system.
I wonder how much happier I would be without a "friend" that constantly tells me how unworthy everything I own and everything I spend my money on, and even how I look is. Yet almost everyday I invite this into my living room.

Then I remember something Pastor Noel said about how people measure their happiness - He said he had seen a study or read somewhere that people measure their happiness by their stuff compared to their neighbors and friends stuff, if they had the latest iphone, SUV and gadget from an infomercial- then they would be happy - if not - then they would struggle to make more money, so they could spend it all the faster on the latest trend.

Hebrews 13:5&6
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
6 So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

Philippians 4:11-14
11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ,who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

How much does this friend in my living room cost me? Not the monthly bill that I pay to have the service, although that too could be considered, but the cost measured in being satisfied with what I have? How much temptation do I pay to have pumped into my home?
Just some thoughts for today
Amanda