The Gift of Prayer and the Prayer of Faith

Today's Reading: Psalm 65, Exodus 9:13‐10:29, Ezra 1, Romans 3:21‐31

Psalm 65 - Prayer is a beautiful thing. It is one way that we communicate with God. David loved payer, and speaks of its power and beauty in Psalm 65. David was a warrior king, but also a man of tender prayer and worship. He recognized in his prayers the need to worship God and adore His name and His works.

We often times use the ACTS acronym when talking about prayer. A stands for Adoration; C stands for Confession, T stands for Thanksgiving, and S stands for Supplication. David had adoration of God regularly displayed in his prayers.

Exodus 9:13-10:29 - Three more plagues come upon the Egyptian people in this passage. The first was the plague of hail. Imagine the worst hail storm you have ever been in. Now imagine something much more terrible. Hail can be devastating to property and crops. Pharaoh had enough! He was ready to release the people. But, when the plague was over, so was his resolve to allow the children of Israel to leave.

Pharaoh's pattern continues with the next two plagues; the plagues of locust and darkness. These plagues would take care of the rest of Egypt's crops. Again, we see a hardhearted and wicked monarch ignoring God.

Ezra 1 - What a historic event! The Children of Israel had been living in captivity in Babylon for years. King Cyrus of Persia reversed the policy of previous administrations in the land and allowed for the captives to return home to rebuild their temple. God was working on behalf of the Children of Israel.

Romans 3:21-31 - Paul speaks of the fact that every human being that has ever lived is guilty of sin. There is no one righteous. None of us deserves God's grace, but God gave us his grace as a gift. It requires that we accept His gift by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus becomes Lord of our life, we uphold the law of God. Upholding the law doesn't save us. Jesus saves us; and He does that through our faith.