Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
A Prayer of an Afflicted
“The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” (19-20)
In his book, James, Max Lucado writes, “Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, “I can clean that if you want.” And from the basin of his grace, he scoops a palm full of mercy and washes away our sin.” The heading that is given to this Psalm says, “A prayer of an afflicted man. When he is faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.”
Sin leads to death, repentance leads to healing
In 2006, Pastor Mike Guglielmucci stated that he was dying of cancer. In 2008, the truth came out that he was addicted to pornography. This sin caused him to live a double life by trying to deceive God, deceiving his family, friends, and church members. Due to his addiction, he truly was sick. Yet, when he finally told the truth, he sought forgiveness and psychiatric treatment. Sin has the power to make us sick physically, emotionally, mentally, and most of all, spiritually. That is why there is the forgiveness of sins. The Psalmist was so afflicted that he needed to “cry for help,” so too must we cry for help from the Lord. If we do not seek repentance in our life, then sin will lead us to death. The only way to receive repentance is asking the Lord. By repenting, we experience healing in our lives.
Release the oppressed
Just as the Psalmist noted, the Lord hears our cries. Not only does He hear our cries, but He seeks to release us from the captivity of death. In the Nazareth Manifesto (Luke 4:18-19), He declares that He has come to release the oppressed. We are oppressed to sin, to death, to hell, but in Christ, we are set free from those oppressions, and we are forgiven. Then, we are no longer slaves, but we regain our rightful places as children of the Almighty.
We must also acknowledge that our lives on this earth will one day be gone. Are we confident that we have sought and are continually seeking forgiveness from the Lord? When Christ died and rose up, He defeated death and gave us an opportunity to be reconciled with Him. Now, the choice is ours. Do we choose to live in this small breath of time that is our lives, or can we say as the Apostle Paul did, “To live is Christ and to die is gain”? Let us cry unto the Lord, so we may experience His forgiveness in our lives.
A prayer of an afflicted
“The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” (19-20)
In his book, James, Max Lucado writes, “Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, “I can clean that if you want.” And from the basin of his grace, he scoops a palm full of mercy and washes away our sin.” The heading that is given to this Psalm says, “A prayer of an afflicted man. When he is faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.”
Sin leads to death, repentance leads to healing
In 2006, Pastor Mike Guglielmucci stated that he was dying of cancer. In 2008, the truth came out that he was addicted to pornography. This sin caused him to live a double life by trying to deceive God, deceiving his family, friends, and church members. Due to his addiction, he truly was sick. Yet, when he finally told the truth, he sought forgiveness and psychiatric treatment. Sin has the power to make us sick physically, emotionally, mentally, and most of all, spiritually. That is why there is the forgiveness of sins. The Psalmist was so afflicted that he needed to “cry for help,” so too must we cry for help from the Lord. If we do not seek repentance in our life, then sin will lead us to death. The only way to receive repentance is asking the Lord. By repenting, we experience healing in our lives.
Release the oppressed
Just as the Psalmist noted, the Lord hears our cries. Not only does He hear our cries, but He seeks to release us from the captivity of death. In the Nazareth Manifesto (Luke 4:18-19), He declares that He has come to release the oppressed. We are oppressed to sin, to death, to hell, but in Christ, we are set free from those oppressions, and we are forgiven. Then, we are no longer slaves, but we regain our rightful places as children of the Almighty.
We must also acknowledge that our lives on this earth will one day be gone. Are we confident that we have sought and are continually seeking forgiveness from the Lord? When Christ died and rose up, He defeated death and gave us an opportunity to be reconciled with Him. Now, the choice is ours. Do we choose to live in this small breath of time that is our lives, or can we say as the Apostle Paul did, “To live is Christ and to die is gain”? Let us cry unto the Lord, so we may experience His forgiveness in our lives.
Prayer: Father, we acknowledge the harmful power of sin in our lives, but we also acknowledge Your triumphant victory over sin. Forgive us of our sins, so that we may experience Your victory in our lives. Amen.