Psalms – Prayers of Honesty and Praise
“Where is my phone?” is no longer much of a question these days. Why? Because it is always attached to us in some way. Look at us, all of us, who march to the beat of the phone’s demands. We scroll, tap, watch other’s lives unfold and text our own cryptic messages with emoji’s that rival the hieroglyphics on cave walls of the past! And I am one of them.As I read our next prayer of praise to God, I am stopped cold with how much I am attached to my little rectangular god that dictates a great amount of time from me. What if I trusted God, talked to God, wrote about Him, and worshiped God with that same amount of time? How would my life be different? How could my life be transformed?
What was meant to be security in trouble so that help could be summoned in an emergency has become somewhat of a god to many of us. How much time is spent with this attachment to our bodies that we cannot do without? Again, I am guilty. I am preaching to me.Before reading our next psalm, I was on my knees in humility to the God I love more than anyone else. For to love God and realize His love for me is the only way to begin to love others like God loves…without conditions. I also repented of all the wasted time on this little god who dictates my life. I must use the phone, not let it use me. All my trust is in God, my Father, who is the One and Only God of my life.
TRUST in God is the theme of Psalm 115. Today it is the focus of my thinking about God. To God be the glory for saving my from myself!
Psalm 115, The Message
1-2 Not for our sake, God, no, not for our sake, but for your name’s sake, show your glory.
Do it on account of your merciful love,
do it on account of your faithful ways.
Do it so none of the nations can say,
“Where now, oh where is their God?”
3-8 Our God is in heaven doing whatever he wants to do.
Their gods are metal and wood,
handmade in a basement shop:
Carved mouths that can’t talk,
painted eyes that can’t see,
Tin ears that can’t hear,
molded noses that can’t smell,
Hands that can’t grasp, feet that can’t walk or run,
throats that never utter a sound.
Those who make them have become just like them,
have become just like the gods they trust.
9-11 But you, Israel: put your trust in God! —trust your Helper! trust your Ruler!
Clan of Aaron, trust in God!
—trust your Helper! trust your Ruler!
You who fear God, trust in God!
—trust your Helper! trust your Ruler!
12-16 O God, remember us and bless us,
bless the families of Israel and Aaron.
And let God bless all who fear God—
bless the small, bless the great.
Oh, let God enlarge your families—
giving growth to you, growth to your children.
May you be blessed by God,
by God, who made heaven and earth.
The heaven of heavens is for God,
but he put us in charge of the earth.
17-18 Dead people can’t praise God—
not a word to be heard from those buried in the ground.
But we bless God, oh yes—
we bless him now, we bless him always!
Hallelujah!
HEART CHECK:
You are probably reading this from your phone right now! That’s okay, just remember to trust God more than the phone. Use it for God’s glory. Use it as a tool to tell others about who God is and what He has done. I do. Daily!Be guided by God’s Spirit when we post. “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” (Ephesians 4:29, NLT)
How can we use our phones for God’s glory?Who and what do our post reveal about our trust and faith?
What can we say to point people to Christ?
How should we balance our time spent on our phones so that our phones do not become our gods?
How about turning off the cell and turning on the touch of another human? Wait, what?
List the benefits of not being attached to our phones…
Who do we trust, really? We cannot let this tool made by man become our “god” that uses us, pulls us down into depression by constantly watching others’ lives who appear perfect with staged pictures. I am guilty again. I take a lot of pictures of grandkids because they are precious to me and I love looking back at their growth but there are many moments of an imperfect life that are not portrayed on the small screen.
Get real. Who do we trust with our very lives?
Dear Heavenly Father,Your Word took us to honest revelations of our own lives. We are not perfect, only perfectly forgiven by You. Forgive us, like your people of the past who fashioned gods of wood. Help us to be alert to this temptation of the technical gods around us that can pull our attention away from you. YOU are who we trust with all our hearts, minds and souls. I love you, Lord with all that is in me. Thank you for saving my soul. Help me to lay down my phone and look to You, only You today.
In Jesus Name, Amen
