ZECHARIAH 12:10 – And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
THEME OF THE DAY: WHEN GOD DIRECTS OUR PRAYER. Of all the benefits we may receive from God, they have two sources. First, they come through our Lord Jesus Christ. We receive nothing from God apart from Christ. The Apostle Paul would tell us in the opening verses of his letter to the Ephesians how the Father bestows all of God – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:1-3).
The other way God’s benefits come to us is through Christ by His mercy. Mercy is a dominant theme in the scriptures, and again, from the Apostle Paul’s pen to the Ephesian believers, he shows us how mercy comes from God in the rich blessing of new birth or new life in Christ – But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7).
In today’s scripture, there is another mention of God’s mercy and it is associated with prayer. God is said to have prompted His people to cry out to Him pleas for mercy. Here is an important principle in prayer. Often times we don’t know what to pray for so what does God do? His Spirit helps us. He fills our prayers with words or with groanings from the heart that is language the Lord alone knows. Sometimes those groans are pleas for mercy in our many times of failing the Lord and sinning against the Lord. And where are those pleas pointed – to a throne; a throne of grace, and what are we looking for at that throne of grace? Mercy – Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
So when we lack words in our prayer, and life’s burdens even hinder our praying, be on the lookout for God’s prompting us to pray, and His prompting will point us to seeking what He offers us – mercy and grace that are able to sustain and keep us keeping on in the Christian life.
PRAYER: “Father, may I be quick to discern Your Spirit prompting me to pray.”
QUOTE: “God prompts us to pray for what we need most from Him – mercy.
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim