God calls us to make the choice to be holy because He himself is holy.
Psalm 17:1 “Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea; listen to my cry.”
[You, Lord, are the prayer-answering God. Intercession was your invention, giving us a way to enter your presence, your arms, your heart, your plans.
You are the God who
–heard Joseph and gave him the interpretation of dreams;
–who heard Moses and opened the Red Sea;
–who heard David and defeated his enemies;
–who heard Daniel and told him the dream of the king;
–who heard Jesus and raised Lazarus from the dead.
–And you are the God who hears us still and will answer in the same faithfulness and power you always have.]
“Give ear to my prayer—it does not rise from deceitful lips.”
[Your part is to hear, ours is to come to you in integrity, not trying to manipulate you or paint ourselves as better than we are or trick you into moving against someone unjustly. To do any of these is, of course, ridiculous, for nothing is hidden from your eyes, including our motives. You are the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-present One.
Praise you that we can and must be totally transparent before you—and that such honesty does not negatively affect your openness to us one bit, “for you are good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy to all who call upon you” (Psalm 86:5).
