“Listen, Yahweh, to my passionate prayer!
Can’t you hear my groaning?
Don’t you hear how I’m crying out to you?
My King and my God, consider my every word,
for I am calling out to you.
At each and every sunrise you will hear my voice
as I prepare my sacrifice of prayer to you.
Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar
and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.”
Psalm 5
Let’s be honest. Prayer can be messy. One minute I’m crying, pouring out my heart to my patient and gracious Father…and the next minute I’m thinking, “Should I have ice cream or dark chocolate for dessert today?” When we enter into prayer, especially as sports professionals, we need to relinquish our desire to perform. We’re talking to God, maker of the Heavens and the earth. He made us from dust and knows our form. He doesn’t need our performance. What He wants is all of us. Jesus bled, died, and rose again to give us full access and reconciliation to the Father. Read that again, and again. Sin separated us from God, but Jesus.
Now, we still when walking with the Lord should grieve over sin. I ask the Holy Spirit to convict me so quickly of sin because I don’t want to be numb to the thing that put Jesus on the cross. That is why Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Repentance is WONDERFUL. Through repentance, we are cleansed and washed daily; being made more into the image of the Son. One day I asked God, “What do you think of when you look at me?” His answer was, “I see Jesus.” He sees the perfection of His sons and daughters, covered by the blood, when He looks at us. And trust me, He is looking (2 Chronicles 16:9). I encourage you today, in a quiet moment ask God, “What do you think of me?” The answer may shock you.
Comments