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Welcome to Day 28 of the series Speak
Praise as part of the Write 31
Days challenge.
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One element that is the essence of worshiping the Lord in our daily walk is what Brother Lawrence calls practicing the presence of God.
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. PSALM 84:1-2
As I think about what this looks like
in my everyday life, I cannot separate my faith in God with any
segment of my life. As believers and disciples of Christ, we do not
portion out what parts of our lives we give to God and decide where
we can invite him to visit. Certainly not!
When we come to Christ for salvation, we say, “Here's my life, Lord. Take all of me.” Christ infuses us with his Holy Spirit and he comes in and takes up residence in our heart.
When we come to Christ for salvation, we say, “Here's my life, Lord. Take all of me.” Christ infuses us with his Holy Spirit and he comes in and takes up residence in our heart.
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young—at a place near Your altar. v.3
So it is that we walk our daily lives
always in the presence of the Living God, because his Spirit dwells
in us and through us, and through him we live and have our being.
The psalmist knew this well in writing
a song about dwelling in the courts of the Lord with our whole being,
body, mind, and soul, until praise becomes our love language with God.
What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. v.4
Praise is not something we do only
at an appointed time of day like during our morning devotions, with a cup of coffee in hand and music
playing in the background.
Or just on Sundays when we gather with other believers in communal
worship. Or only on a holiday and we
feel it makes us more religious to go to church and sing from the
hymnal.
Praise is a lifestyle. It is a way of
life as we journey with the Lord. That we have the privilege of
dwelling in the courts of God, the Lord of Heaven's Armies? This
should make us faint with longing to be with him all the time!
And I love this truth tucked away in
Psalm 84:6--
When we walk through the valley of weeping it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
Even the lowest places on our journey
can bring us the refreshment of God's Spirit as we walk in his
presence. Even the darkest days, when it feels like the clouds are
covering us in our circumstances, give occasion to receive grace.
When a person experiences this depth of
peace and satisfaction in walking with the Lord, everything else pales in comparison.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere!
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other posts in the series Speak Praise, click
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