Psalms 3:4/He Heard Me

                                    Joshua age ten months in his homemade outfit


Good morning, dear readers, this is what David wrote when he fled from Absalom his son:

I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Se-lah.

As I considered my thoughts and these writings of Psalms in this blog, I considered one of my weaknesses: the lack in my prayer life.

I can look over my life and see that I am praying sooner and more often in praise and in time of need. Losing Joshua taught me to reach out to Lord God more quickly than I had in the past. But I still allow my "figure this out by myself" to come in more times than I care to admit. My immediate response should be? I will cry unto the Lord with my voice.

That doesn't mean I worry first, figure it out first, be angry for way too long first. What David is telling us is when he cried unto the Lord, He heard David from where God is: on a holy hill. So does cry unto mean praying?

Yes.

We can pray silently or out loud. I've done both, and a friend told me that she prays better in her mind because she finds no other thoughts can creep in. Whatever works for each one of us, is the best way to pray or cry out unto the Lord.

A preacher once said from the pulpit, he had a very hard time praying. Until one day, he found if he praised God for the blessings in his life first, the prayers followed with ease. He needed to have a grateful heart before he came to the Lord for a need, or to talk to the Lord.

I've been practicing praising God first, and the closeness I feel toward God is remarkable.

During my early grieving, I prayed with few breaks. I would have perished if I hadn't continually pray to the Lord. Nothing fancy, just "God help me." "God, please take this pain from me." And some days, I'd pray, "Thank You, Lord, for allowing us to have known Joshua for twenty-five years."

And at other times? There was no time but for the words, "HELP!"

If you've lost a loved one, did you find your prayer life increased? Did that ease your sorrow?

Here's my prayer for us today:
Dear Lord, I am so grateful You encouraged me to come to You more often. I am sorry for the times I do not when I need to come to You. Please for give me, Lord. In Jesus' holy name, I ask. Amen.

Until next time . . . cry unto the Lord.