two for today

Psalm 123:3
3 Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy,
for we have had our fill of contempt.

God created everything by his "Word." Jesus is called "the Word." (John1) Words are powerful and they have the capacity to work good or evil. We live in an age when this is most important, as words can bee transmitted in so many ways. We live in an age that seems like all words, all the time.

With the words comes the contempt. All vile and spiteful speech, all the time. So, we pray with the Psalmist, "Have mercy..."

Commit to watching your "spite" and "contemptuous" speech.

Psalm 141:2
2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,
and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

Prayers of praise and thanksgiving can be seen as an offering we place before the Lord. Interesting that the word for thanksgiving in the Bible Hebrew language means literally, "Lift up your hands."

Some Christians find this meaningful enough to lift their hands in song and prayer. It's like the experience I had when I drove through the tunnel at Yosemite and saw the Valley for the first time (and for every time after, for that matter. Head up, neck straining, hands up..."Whoa! You've got to be kidding!"

In your private prayer this week, lift your hands, palms up, to the Lord.