May 20
Hannah dedicates Samuel to the service of the Lord.
INSIGHT
We rarely give God sufficient thanks and praise for the things He does for us, and we rarely give Him adequate worship for who He is and for His significant answers to prayer.
By contrast, notice Hannah's song of thanksgiving. She prays earnestly for a child, and when the Lord gives her one, she expresses her gratitude in full-blown poetic praise. Her response is fitting for the gift.
PRAYER
· Because the Lord is so merciful to us, we give Him heartfelt praise and thanksgiving with the psalmist:
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God
(Psalms 98:1-3).
· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed (Hebrews 12:11-13).
· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26).
· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· greater thankfulness to the Lord,
· unsaved family members,
· your activities for the day.
· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
A day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness
(Psalms 84:10).
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