3.30.18 Praise Prompt: A 3000 Year Old Prayer Request

PRAISE PROMPT ••• Psalm 71:17-18 NLT says, “O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.”
This is the prayer of an old man, most likely King David.
The writer spent a lifetime learning from God, and sharing God’s goodness with others.
Now as an old man, the writer wants to continue to be used by God.
He asked God to give him a voice to speak to the younger people and those who came after him.
As I sit in my recliner, on the morning of March 30, 2018, reading a Psalm composed around 1023 BC…
And typing on my iPhone which includes apps and access to countless Biblical resources…
It occurs to me how big God’s answers to prayers really are.
King David probably couldn’t fathom the kind of modern conveniences we take for granted.
Nor could he have imagined that a 43-year-old woman in Clemmons, NC would be reading his works 3000 years after he wrote them.
Yet, here I am.
Hearing the words of David as he proclaimed God’s goodness.
Proof that when God answers prayers, He can (and often does) answer beyond our imaginations.
When we pray according to His will and pray as David did, to be used by God, He will answer with abundance!
I imagine King David in heaven this moment, dancing with joy that his prayer continues to be answered and that he continues to be used by God!
And God does all of this out of His immeasurable love for us.
Paul encouraged us to try to wrap our brains around how much God loves us when he wrote in Ephesians 3:18, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”
Today, take a moment to praise God who answers all prayer.
Not always the way we expect, but always in the way that is best for us.
Thank Him for answering bold prayers in big ways!
While none of us can truly fathom the greatness of God’s love, let’s praise Him and thank Him for loving us so much, that on this Good Friday, He allowed His own Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.