PRAYER + PRAISE
Giving God our Everything
- Adam R. Cole // November 10, 2008
But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!" —Psalm 40:16:
God wants what can only be described as ‘our everything.’ We lift our hands up in worship, when we praise the holy and awesome Lord, we must do it in a posture of giving our absolute all, to leave nothing behind in terms of our love and affection for Him We often proclaim ‘I adore you Lord’ but sometimes say and do it almost half-heartedly, consumed in our minds about the things that we have to do, the bills that we have to pay, the worries of a shattered world.
God’s greatest commandment to each of us to love Him, with all our hearts, with all of our minds, and with all of our strength. This applies to each and every day, each and every moment.
As believers, as those that come into the grace of this sovereign Lord, we now have a higher calling, a calling to truly honor this commandment, to meet a standard above the rest, to set ourselves a part from this world and set ourselves to him.
We all need, sometimes, a gut check…and I had one last night at an event for students…that humbly made me realize, that brought me to my knees, in just how deep that commitment really is. For me personally, I get too consumed in the things I’m doing for Him, the kingdom building efforts, and so often fall into a trap of trying to compare my efforts to others…but He spoke to me, spoke into my heart to say that calling He has in my life is not to wrestle with a to do list but come to the throne in worship of the heart, come in pure and utter adoration for Him in every moment.
The beautiful thing about our Lord, is even in those moments, where we feel so low because we cannot meet a standard so high, that He comes to us and draws us near – and says I love you, I deeply treasure you – that His grace becomes so readily apparent, so near, that it is overwhelming.
God is a jealous God. He wants our all. Let’s give our hearts to him always and forever. Let’s die to ourselves and live in Him.
Praise: That has renewed, allowed us to become new creatures, so that we may honor and worship Him with our hearts.
Prayer: That we may truly give our hearts and our lives to him, holding nothing back, giving our everything.
Prayer for Today: Lord, we come to you, in adoration, in true love, for You are our everything. May we recognize that every moment, not being consumed in the ways of the world, but being consumed by You, Your grace and Your equally affectionate love. God we thank You so much that you’ve set us a part, that You’ve taken us from slavery, taken us from a life of sin, taken us from a place of bondage, all so that we can come and be reconciled with You. We thank You for Your Son, who made that reconciliation possible, and we honor You by giving all our hearts to You. In Jesus, Name, Amen.