Psalm 5:1 “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing.”
[Praise you, LORD Yahweh, for you are the prayer hearing God: you listen to my sighing, and are willing to hear about my being burdened, my unrest, my fears, my disappointments, my tiredness. You hear my words and understand them fully. You know my needs and have prepared provision for me, for you are loving and faithful: “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made” (Psa. 145:13b).]
“Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.”
[You, Lord God, are the One we can come to; prayer is our greatest recourse, our first step, our wonderfully great privilege. And you, my King—the Ruler of all, Lord of my life, Commander-in-Chief of the hosts of heaven, Protector and Sovereign One—are able and willing to listen and hear and answer. “The Lord is near to those who call upon him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” (Psa. 145:18-19).
You, O Lord, are my God–that is, my final authority, the decider of what is right and wrong. You call us every day to a play out a repetition of the Garden of Eden: will we choose to obey you, or to rebel? Will we choose to believe you or to listen to the siren call of the flesh, the world and the devil? Will we choose to make you the One to decide what is good and what is evil in our lives or do it ourselves? Will we just respond to what is around us, or will we be proactive in following your lead early on?
Think what would have happened if Adam had spoken up right away in that conversation with Satan, telling Eve to stop listening, telling Satan to talk to him, not Eve, leading Eve away from that temptation, forbidding her from taking the fruit, pointing out the fallacies and inaccuracies that Satan was subtly inserting into her mind. If Adam had kept God as his final authority, he would not have fallen; that was a very real possibility and is one that I also have.
Each day I will choose many times: will God be my final authority, deciding for me what is right and wrong, or will I usurp His right and lead myself down the path of the first Adam? I can actually make that choice right now, before any temptation comes.
When I follow you, my King and my God, then I will give you glory. I will honor you before the hosts of heaven, exalt you before the hordes of hell, lift you up to the hearts of men. May I do that, Lord: with your grace and guidance may I give you honor and praise, glory and exaltation in the choices I make. Help me to surrender to you every day, every moment, so you may be lifted up in the glory you deserve.]
