May 20 – Psalms 5, 38, 41, & 42

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Psalms  5, 38, 41, & 42. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Word Clipart

I recently read a story about a village who was struggling through a drought. Months before, the rain clouds had disappeared. The streams had stopped flowing. The lake beds were beginning to show. The crops were brittle and brown. Now the cracks in the dirt were growing into ant sized canyons. Each day the villagers went to their local church to gather to pray for rain. One day a traveler stopped by and joined the villagers in their daily prayer meeting. When the time of prayer had drawn to a close he asked an elder if he could say a few words. He was granted permission and here is what he said...

 “I have sat and heard your prayers. They were all solemn and thoughtful, but you have no faith. The item that you left at home proves your lack of faith. With this serious lack of faith you will never see the answer to the pray you so earnestly seek. What is the evidence of your lack of faith? No one in here believes in your prayers so much so that you thought to bring an umbrella!”

 David prayed with expectation. David hurts and he prays. David rejoices and he prays. When David prays he expects answers. “Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my request to you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3 NLT). David knows that the answers might not always be what he wants, but when he prays he expects something to happen.

Let me ask you, are you praying like David … expecting results? Or are you praying like the villagers … expecting no results metaphorically leaving your umbrellas at home?

At West Side we believe highly in prayer. We are asking people to join with us in praying daily for West Side. If you would like to join us please click here and subscribe to receive daily emails containing a short prayer request for West Side. We appreciate your partnership.