We’ve all had the experience of going past something several times and never really noticing it. When one day we do notice it, we are surprised. “How is it that I never saw that before?” we exclaim. Don’t you wonder how many times we are repeatedly going past and not noticing something that God is prepared to show us. In Jesus’ words from Matthew 5:8 we read, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” This same verse in The Message translation reads, “You’re blessed when you get your inside world -your heart and mind-put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.” God is constantly at work in us and in the world around us. What we see of God and His redemptive movements has the potential to affect us profoundly. Our attitudes in prayer as we ask God to open our eyes and to illumine our outlooks will affect our ability to notice and to recognize what we have not seen before. Our faith in God compels us to want to see more and more of God and to expect that what we see will change us. We will see in a new way. Awareness that God wants to reveal more to us means that we cannot pretend that we don’t know. Once we have seen something not noticed before, it continues to catch our attention and to demand our reaction. As we prepare again for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow September 15th at 1 pm, we need to realize that God is asking us to come with pure hearts and to want to see Him and whatever He wants us to notice.
Thanking God that He truly wants us to see and to know Him, Pastor Lola
Our Grace filled God, it is such an expression of Your love for us that You arrange for us to notice You. We come to you today aware that there are things in our hearts and minds that need to be cleansed and made pure. We cannot bring this about by our own will and determination. We come grateful that You are willing to forgive us. We bring to you today our thoughts that get all tangled up with resentment and judgment. We bring to You all that blurs our vision of You. We trust you to forgive us for giving more attention to what pleases us than what pleases You. We are relying on You God to forgive us for our attitudes that find us regarding other people from our viewpoint rather than Yours. We have expectations of people that have more to do with us than with You. And God in this current climate of unsettledness, we admit that often our concern is with our well being and we at times neglect concern for the well being of others. Please give each of us an accurate understanding of where You want to be working in us. It is apparent to us that our hearts are not pure. Yet we do want You to purify our hearts so that we can see You. We cling to the promise that Jesus Your Son has the power to make us pure and whole. In humility, we ask You to continue Your refining work in our hearts. Again and again we struggle with sin and we ask You God to win the battle for us. As our hearts and minds are put right, we anticipate God that we will see You. What do You want us to acknowledge? How do you want us seeing You to draw us closer with You? How do You want us seeing You to draw us closer with each other? God, where there are things that we have considered to matter that don’t, please confirm that for us. Where there are relationships that we have not surrendered to you please make alterations. Whatever You find in us God that interferes with us seeing You clearly, we invite You to carry out Your will for us. We claim your power to save us from our sin and to restore us to the communion with You that You intend. Our God it is our expectation that seeing You and being convinced of You actively at work in the most unexpected of places will transform how we approach our everyday lives. Our prayer is that seeing You as our hearts are made pure will not be a rare treasure that we attempt to keep for ourselves. You God know how much our world needs to see and know You, Please use us as You choose so that others will discover you too. Impact us with Your love and grace so that we will be consistently living each day noticing You and Your will. We are blessed to see and know you God and we offer to you our praise in Jesus’ Name. AMEN