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Friday, August 21, 2020

Step Three in Crisis: Pour Your Heart Out to God

As I look at Daniel 9:3 this morning I read,  I poured out my heart, baring my soul to GOD.” (The Message)

Daniel poured out his heart and confessed his own sin. In times of adversity, it's easy to blame others and excuse my own actions. So, instead of looking for others to blame, first examine myself and confess my own sins to God.

Over the last two days, I’ve learned that I must let God speak to me before I speak to him and focus my attention on God and seek him. The next thing is to express my desires with passion.

Many of my prayers are simply cut and dried. I speak without really thinking about what I’m saying. I have the words memorized. There’s no passion or authenticity. The truth is, God cares more about the passionate sincerity of my prayers than the words I use. Think about how the right words with the wrong emotions won’t work with my spouse. That won’t work with God, either.

Daniel described his passionate prayer in Daniel 9:3: “I prayed earnestly to the Lord God, pleading with him” (GNT). The word “pleading” in Hebrew means to “ask with emotions.” It’s a serious pursuit. It’s searching with all my heart. It’s begging. That’s a prayer God will listen to and answer.

Perhaps I need to pray like that for my family, my work and my life. I need to pour my heart out and bare my soul to God. I need to do that about the world around me. The whole globe is in crisis. And beyond the coronavirus pandemic, I can see things like the devastation of war, famine, and evil. I need to learn to pour out my heart to God about it.

In summary, Daniel poured out his heart and confessed his own sin. It's easy to blame others and excuse my actions. Instead of looking for others to blame, first I need to examine myself and confess my own sins. Over the last two days, I’ve learned that I must let God speak to me before I speak to him and focus my attention on God and seek him. The next thing is to express my desires with passion. Many of my prayers are simply cut and dried. I speak without really thinking, There’s no passion or authenticity. The truth is, God cares more about the passionate sincerity of my prayers than the words I use. In Daniel’s passionate prayer he prayed earnestly to the Lord God, pleading with him. The word “pleading” in Hebrew means to “ask with emotions. Perhaps I need to start praying like that for my family, my work and my life. I need to pour my heart out and bare my soul to God. I need to learn to pour out my heart to God about it.

Father I confess that at times my prayers are cut and dry, without passion. With your Holy Spirit’s help, I want to be more passionate in what I ask. I start this morning with a passionate prayer about a future job for me where I can help, be of assistance and not have as many political issues or lack of concern about myself and my team. I also ask you for wisdom and guidance for my career, my work, my leadership and my interaction with others. I pray for a good interview this afternoon, where I can be relaxed and just chat naturally about my skills, desires, passions and help how I can be of assistance. These things I pray in your Son Jesus’ name, amen.

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