Praying Pint

 

 

Lamentations 3:26  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Psalms 77:9  Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”

Psalms 31:22  I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.

Psalms 37:7  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Proverbs 20:22  Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

2Chronicles 20:17  You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.”

Luke 18:7-8  And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Galatians 6:9  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

James 5:7  Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

 

In times of uncertainty and distress, it is natural to question whether God remains attentive and gracious. The passages presented invite us to reflect on the steadfastness of God’s mercy, the assurance of His justice, and the importance of patient trust even when circumstances seem overwhelming. Our cries do not fall on deaf ears; instead, they reach a loving God who responds with compassion. Patience is not passive resignation but active trust in God’s timing and faithfulness. We are to cultivate inner peace and confidence, knowing that God ultimately governs all outcomes.

Sometimes, the greatest act of faith is to refrain from striving and simply observe how God moves on our behalf. Trusting God means releasing control and allowing Him to work in ways beyond our understanding.

Even when we feel cut off or discouraged, we are invited to stand firm, persevere in doing good, and patiently anticipate the harvest that follows faithful waiting. God’s mercy endures, and His salvation is sure for those who trust in Him. (Bagster)

 

Psalms 139:1-24  To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

 

When faith becomes weak or “sags,” there is a temptation to rely on external props—rituals, public opinion, and popularity—to sustain religious life. This reliance is portrayed as a symptom of deeper:  spiritual  unhappiness, restlessness, uneasiness, unease, melancholy, depression, despondency, dejection, disquiet, trouble, anxiety, leading to practices that dilute the authenticity and depth of Christian faith. The passage suggests that this external orientation is a defining characteristic of contemporary Christianity, often overshadowing genuine spiritual commitment.

The antidote to spiritual bloating and moral decay is a spirit of faith and humility. Faith acts as an “antibody,” protecting the heart from the corrosive effects of pride, vanity, and the desire for recognition. Humility enables believers to focus on what truly matters: God’s perspective, rather than the fluctuating opinions of others. This approach fosters spiritual health and resilience, shielding individuals from the moral “bacteria” that distort authentic Christian living. (Tozer)

 

 

1 Timothy 4:10   For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Hebrews 4:11   Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

2 Peter 1:10-11   Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.  For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:14    Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

 

Hebrews 12:28    Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

1 Corinthians 15:58    Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Isaiah 1:10-18    Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!  “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.  “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts?  Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.  Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.  When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.  Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,  learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.  “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

 

Colossians 3:5    Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Romans 8:13   For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

2 Timothy 2:22    So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

1 Peter 2:11    Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Genesis 4:7    If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Acts 10:35    but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

 

 

1 Thessalonians 2:4   But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

Colossians 3:20   Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

Psalm 147:11   The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27    So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:25   Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

1 Corinthians 6:12   “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

 

2 Timothy 2:4
No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

Hosea 6:6
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

2 Corinthians 5:9   We make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 

Romans 12:1   Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 

1 Thessalonians 4:1    As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 

Colossians 1:10    So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. 

 

Hebrews 3:12    Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

Ephesians 5:10
And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Ephesians 6:6
Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

Galatians 1:10
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Proverbs 16:7
When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

1 John 3:22
And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

 

Jeremiah 17:5
Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”

John 12:43
“For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”

Psalms 118:8-9    It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.  It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

Isaiah 2:22   Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?

Isaiah 30:1  “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

Isaiah 59:15    Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

 

Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel.” –Joshua 7:20

The Israelites experienced a resounding victory at Jericho. So when they were crushed at Ai, Joshua couldn’t believe it. He cried out to the Lord, and God explained: “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. . . . Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies” (Joshua 7:11–12). Remember, a man named Achan had disobeyed God by taking some of the plunder from Jericho for himself. Achan’s sin brought defeat to the entire nation. When his sin was found out, he said, “Truly, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it” (vv. 20–21). Notice how Achan described the progression of his sin: “I saw.” Sin always begins with the eyes. Now, seeing and admiring something of beauty is not in and of itself a sin. But we get into trouble when we fixate on what we see. “I coveted them.” To covet means to desire something that is outside of God’s will for you, whether it is wrong under any circumstances or simply wrong for you right now. “And took them.” If you meditate on something that is outside of God’s will for you, eventually you’re going to act on that desire. Wrong thinking leads to wrong action. “They are concealed.” We all inherited from Adam and Eve the urge to try to hide our sin from God. But as long as we conceal our sin, we can’t heal from our sin by receiving His forgiveness. To Achan’s credit, he eventually named and claimed his sin. You cannot truly repent until you see your sin the way God sees it and call it what God calls it. Adultery is not merely “a lapse in judgment.” Addiction is not “overdependence.” Lying is not “stretching the truth.” To receive God’s forgiveness, you must agree with Him about your sin, just as Achan did. (Jeffress)