In her book, "Seeking God's Face," Beryl Adamsbaum takes it deeper. She says that her prayers do not change anything; rather, she says, God changes things.
She writes: "Difficulties can either draw us closer to God, as we wrestle with the problems, or cause us to harden our hearts in unbelief."
Beryl continues: "I spoke to a friend about it and said: I don't even know how to pray anymore.' Then I added: And I've just come back from a conference on prayer!'"
We often find prayer puzzling or difficult. Yet, Beryl invites us to pray: "Do you want to enter more fully into God's purposes? Do you desire a closer relationship with him?"
Beryl Adamsbaum points to Psalm 24:
Who may ascend the hill of the Lord ?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.
He will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God his Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
---Psalm 24:3-6
Which one of us can claim "clean hands" and a "pure heart"?
We begin as the writer of Psalm 51 did at the beginning of his psalm. He admitted to himself that he needed God.
Like the psalmist we need to ask God to give us a clean heart. Only He can do this for anyone.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. ---Psalm 51: 10-12
Again, to quote Beryl from "Seeking God's Face":
"If you want to know what God is saying to you, to discover his will and understand his ways (as far as our finite minds are capable of grasping the thoughts of an infinite God), you will make a point of reading and trying to understand the Bible.
" Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, exclaims the psalmist ( Psalm 119:105). Let us then walk in that light!"
(c) 2008 Jane Bullard
Seeking God's Face excerpts: all rights reserved.
To read all or part of Psalms 24, 51 or other parts of the Bible in many languages, translations and versions, visit Biblegateway.com.
Hi Jane, another beautiful word! Thanks for sharing. We can never get enough of the word of God! What a great idea to include the link to Biblegateway. Have you ever used blueletterbible ? That is a great tool for quick and handy research and commentaries. Talk to you later. God bless, keep sharing!
Hi, Teresa! No, I've not heard of blueletterbible. I'll do a search about it today. Thanks! I'm writing something about Easter now, and maybe it will go online today. Also am sending a book your way. I appreciate your comments! God bless you!~Jane Respond to this comment
Was this article helpful to you? Leave a Public Comment or
Question:
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
