Ps 62.1
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.

Without knowing I get to live with Jesus forever, I would have great fear wondering if I measure up. Thank God Jesus dies for us while we are yet sinners. We don’t earn what is not ours to possess. Life with God forever comes through Jesus, not my effort.

Pray for an extra anointing of God’s grace today.

Ps 39.9
I am silent before you; I won’t say a word,
for my punishment is from you.

When we sin against God there is no court of appeals. We are 100% guilty 100% of the time. We can’t talk our way out it. All that is left is to throw ourselves on the mercy of the court. Thank God for our prosecutor who ends up being our defense, as well. The honorable Jesus.

Pray for honesty in your confession.

Ps 4.4
Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
Think about it overnight and remain silent.

There is no law that says we have to speak up every time something ticks us off. It may be just as good for us to leave it inside and let it die out as it is releasing it, to “get it off my chest.” Many don’t have a hard time lashing out in anger, but few are skilled at letting it die inside, even though this may be as good or better a response.

Pray for patience and holding your tongue.

Job 13:5
If only you could be silent!
That’s the wisest thing you could do.

In this day of instant recordings, instant blogging, instant everything, everything you say can and will be used against you, if someone decides they want to put you down. Public figures can no longer deny saying something they said. Now, they can only say, “I didn’t mean what you think I meant.”

Leaving things unspoken unless our speaking is absolutely necessary to bring good into the situation may be a discipline to take on if you are challenged by speaking too much.

Pray for the ability to be quiet.

Job 6:24
24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;
show me where I have been wrong.”

If I stay busy enough, then I don’t have to be concerned about my sin. Too many things to do, right now, urgent and compelling– to notice what I am already doing that is wrong or what I am not doing that would be right. Clever Tempter, good luck, God now has my attention.

Honestly confess the things you have done or left undone in the last week that have gotten in the way of God.

1 Kings 19:12
12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came the sound of sheer silence.

“Sound of sheer silence.” With apologies to Simon and Garfunkel, God knows about this first. This is not a koan, as in Buddhist thought. “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” and such. Literally, to truly hear from God it is a much a matter of our preparation to hear as it is his availability to communicate with us.

What is God saying to you at 12 noon today?

1 Samuel 1:3
Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk.

Nothing like prayer to help on the booze budget. Now we know why they call it, “spirits.” Hannah is not drunk, however. She is just concentrating in the quiet of the hour. Focusing on her God. Praying intensely. Is intense prayer so rare for us that it seems unusual?

Pray intently for the Holy Spirit to come to you for a set period of time. “Spirit fill me.”

Tuesday
Genesis 24:21
Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.

Communication is about 90% non-verbal according to communication mavens. We hear with our “eyes.” Also, practically, we all know what we miss in conversation because we are not really listening as much as trying to think of what we are going to say next.

With God, our richest communication can occur by just paying attention to the world around us and see where he shows up.

Pray for deep listening skills with loved ones.