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November 7, 2012
Day 2
Lift Up Holy Hands
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Dear Praying Friend,
This morning I am meditating on Lamentations 3:21-26,40: "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I hope in Him!' The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD...Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD; let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven." In times of trouble or disappointment we know that our hope rests in the Lord. Praise God that when we fix our eyes upon our faithful, longsuffering, and compassionate Lord we find great peace, clarity, and comfort in the midst of chaos, confusion, and calamity. The Lord has commissioned us to bring His message of hope to the world and He will use hopeless circumstances to remind us of the hope we have in Him so we can share His great hope with others.
Our circumstances are not always going to change the way we expect they should; however, our response to the challenges we face most certainly can change. Ultimately we must remember that everything rests in the Sovereign hand of God. He has control of all things and each day is ordained in accordance with His kingdom purposes for our lives and the world. During these next 77 days of prayer we will look past our problems and focus our attention on the capable and compassionate hand of our God to guide us, direct us, comfort and protect us as we trust Him to lead us to His victorious end (Psalm 44:2-3). He has faithfully provided a praying remnant who will remain steadfastly before the throne. May you be encouraged and strengthened each day as you soak in the secret place of the Most High. Let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to the One who has called us to Himself for such a time as this.
Today's prayer meditation: Psalm 77:1-2
In the day of trouble Asaph sought the Lord - he petitioned the Lord tirelessly with arms stretched out. We, too, are exhorted to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) - remaining persistent in our pursuit of God while consistent in our petitions to God. When we lift up our hands in prayer we are expressing our desperation and dependence upon God. This posture of full surrender is what the Lord desires of His children. May we humble ourselves before the Lord with total abandon and in complete awe of His majesty and power as we continue to intercede for our children, our churches, our country, and the many lost and hopeless around the world.
"Behold, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
who by night stand in the house of the LORD!
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
and bless the LORD."
(Psalm 134:1-2)
Heavenly Father, Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. We praise You Father, that we can look to You for help. Our eyes are upon You. You are our Creator and we are the work of Your hands; we desire that You would establish the work of our hands. Help us to better understand the work of Your hands that we might be more effective and adequately prepared to accomplish the task before us. We lift our hands before you and ask that You would give us clean hands and a pure heart to do Your will. Strip our flesh of the desires of the world so we would be fully suited to the work of Your hands. Lord, we call to You each day and we spread out our hands before You. Take hold of our hands and make them strong for the work before us. Our strength is found only in You, Lord. Apart from You we can do nothing. We cannot accomplish the work of Your hands without the power of Your hands. Surround us with other faithful saints to uphold our hands as You did with Your servant Moses. Strengthen us, help us, and uphold us with Your righteous right hand. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
(Prayer Scriptures: Exodus 9:29; 17:11-12; 2 Samuel 22:33; Psalm 24:4; 90:17; 141:2; Isaiah 64:8; John 15:5b).
Steadfast in prayer,
Traci Alexander
Trumpet and Torch Ministries
Psalm 27 |
