Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Psalm 100: 1-5
“1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Understand:
In this psalm, there is a sense of excitement. You can feel it as you read—shouts for glory, gladness, joyful songs, thanksgiving, and praise—all of this in five short verses.
The five preceding psalms were all psalms praising different aspects of God’s power and rule. In those psalms, we were told to: sing songs of praise, worship in the splendor of holiness, know that the LORD reigns, make a joyful noise to the LORD, and know that the LORD our God is Holy! These psalms build upon each other and, like a crescendo, end with Psalm 100.
Worshiping the LORD leads the worshiper to gladness and joy; there is a great sense of confidence and courage that come to a heart filled with praise.
Apply:
In the New Testament, Paul experiences this same kind of overcoming joy when writing his letter to the Romans. By the time he gets to chapter seven, he’s so excited he can no longer contain himself. He writes, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Do you see what is happening? At the end of this chapter, Paul is worshiping God. The mercies of God lead Paul to worship.
God’s mercies are everything He has given us that we don’t deserve: eternal love, eternal grace, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, saving faith, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, intercession, and much more.
You and I, as followers of Christ, have been given all of these blessings! Look at them again… think about the implications they have for your life. Do you feel the joy of gratitude welling up inside you? Go ahead and offer Him your praise and worship! Thank Him for what He has done to make things right. He alone is worthy of our praise.
Live:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.