Cause me to hear ... in the morning

In the morning, when we first awake, we can set our days upon spiritual paths by saying a quick prayer. (In fact, trouble seems to start quickly when we neglect this!)

Psalm 143:8 (KJV) contains a wonderful, easy-to-memorize prayer that is perfect for a brief morning prayer. It reads,

Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

If the Shakespearean English of the KJV feels a bit stiff, here is the same verse in the NLT,

Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.

Try memorizing this and reciting it first thing in the morning. Try that for, say, a week, and see how it sets your path!

Take the water of life freely

Revelation 22:17 (KJV) finishes the prophecy of Jesus' second coming by saying

Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

The amazing word here is "freely," a word which holds importance for our prayers. When we pray, we don't need to bring anything to God. Certainly not material possessions, but also not some lame claim to have obeyed his commandments.

Rather, we just come as ourselves. Full of sin, but also full of thirst for his righteousness. And never lose sight of how important this "water of life" is. As Jesus says in John 4:14 (KJV),

Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

I will not let thee go, except thou bless me

Chapter 32 of Genesis recounts the mysterious time when Jacob wrestled throughout the night with God. It's a dense passage, with many important spiritual implications.

But I'd like to focus on what Jacob says to God at daybreak, when God is getting ready to leave. Jacob says (verse 26, KJV),

I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

But, wait! Doesn't Jacob's tone seem a little rude? He doesn't say "please." In fact, he's physically holding onto God. Yet, God still honors the request, and certainly not because Jacob is righteous. In fact, most of Jacob's behaviors up until this point involve deception of some form or another.

Yet despite Jacob's unrighteousness, and despite his apparent rudeness, God honors Jacob's request. Jesus speeks of a similar theme in Luke 11 and Luke 18. In both of those chapters, Jesus tells parables of people who repeatedly, and annoyingly, makes requests. Yet, in both passages, those requests are honored.

I believe the message is that, when we make requests of God, we need not concern ourselves with decorum. After all, standards of "etiquette" are created by humans, not God. And we need not even pretend to be righteous. We're not. Rather, we must make our requests in faith, and with a full reliance on God's providence.