Out of the depths I cry to you, O lord; O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
If you, O lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.
I wait for the lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
O Israel, put your hope in the lord, for with the lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
Character Check What restless thoughts dominate my thinking? How can I give them to God?
In Business Terms We crowd our thoughts with so many agenda items that we don’t take time to listen to God. God doesn’t just talk to me at the end or at the beginning of a project, but all the time; he may have me change directions in the middle.
Now, I don’t mean that you sit around waiting until God speaks in a burning bush. That may happen, but God also uses people to speak to you. Listen to them; stretch out your hand and let your people guide you.
Prayer is first of all listening to God. It’s openness. God is always speaking; he’s always doing something. Prayer is to enter into that activity. Take this room. Imagine you’ve never been out of it. Prayer is like going outside to see what’s really there. Prayer in its most basic sense is just entering into an attitude of saying, “Lord, what are you saying to me?”
—Henri Nouwen
Something to Think About In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without heart. – John Bunyan