PRAY FOR.....PERSEVERANCE

....and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:2b-5).
Perseverance and Persistence are not the same thing. In everyday, whether you and I think Biblically or not, these two actions carry completely different meanings and results. Persistence is an action with a goal in mind to achieve.  If we had a project to complete, whether it is meeting a sales quota for XYZ Widgets (or in 2016 – for Essential Oils) we would persist through normal working hours and even breaks and lunch to get the job done. Persistence is a commitment and sticking with, in our case here – intense prayer, praise and supplication.

Perseverance on the other hand, is getting through difficulty without losing your focus, your character, your testimony and your relationship – first with God and then with those around you. Persistent prayer will bolster your faith and draw you and I closer to the Flame, the Consuming Fire of God, while Perseverance will use that  Faith, buttressed by prayer to see us through our circumstance. Persistent Prayer will enable us to praise God in the storms of life, so we can persevere and make it through even stronger than when we began the journey through the dark valley of life’s troubles.

The verse above has to be taken in the order as the Holy Spirit instructed the writing of the Oracles of God. But catch this amazing statement in Romans 5:3 which comes just after the Apostle writes that we rejoice in Hope of the Glory of God (Verse 2b). He does something which is antithetical to weak modernistic thinking.  God says through Paul that “we also glory in Tribulations”!  This is not what the corrupt western culture and its psychology of prosperity teaches us! Who in their right mind will “glory in tribulations”? We should! It takes a lot of Godly gumption to be like Job. Here he is –  all his children died. He  lost everything and then got violently ill. His wife tells him to curse God and die. Yet, Job declares “though He slay me, I will trust in Him”! (Job 13:15)

Looking at verses 3 and 4 again, we see that these same trials, hard times and terrible circumstances and Tribulations (from health to financial and relational) lead to Character. However, we are not getting from experiencing the trials and tribulations of life to being a person of solid Christian character WITHOUT Perseverance! This is as plain as the black and white ink the pages of the Book of Romans. The rest of the blessings from the Godly Character which result from Perseverance – Hope and Joy, will be null and void if we do not stand strong in the face of adversity.

Do not believe the untruths of the New Age and/or the Prosperity Gospel that Christians are not supposed to get sick or have hard times.  It was the Suffering Savior Himself – Jesus – Who said “in this world you will have troubles, but behold, I have overcome the World”.  Our Creator, Lord and Savior has not just overcome the world but He has taken the sting out of death and offered joy which can never be taken away – if we persevere.

So how do we walk this out? How do we persevere. First of all, we cannot – at least NOT on our own! Second, we can only persevere in His Strength, His Power and His Love, under the umbrella of His Grace. Third, we MUST pray our way through this, standing on the following Scripture “He (God) only is my rock and my salvation, my Stronghold; I shall not be shaken (Psalm 62:6).

Heavenly Father, we can only make it through the storms, trials and tribulations of life, if we grow into the Mindset of Jesus Christ, Who for the joy set before Him, endured the Cross and not despising the pain, persecution and shame, yet He persevered to sit next to You in Glory for all time. Lord, while we are weak in body and a lot of times, weak in resolve and even Faith, help us oh God. Please help us. We believe. Help our unbelief. Help us not to be distracted by the injustice, pain, ungodliness and worse we see around us, which increases in intensity...sometimes even unbearable intensity. Lord, we can do nothing without Christ Who strengthen us, therefore in this time of Trial and Tribulation, first help us to have Your mindset, Your perspective through the pain and trouble and loss so that we may persevere and endure through it all. We know sometimes Your answer is now, and we have to move on, or we may lose everything, but this endurance which You have enabled in us will strengthen our Christian integrity and Character and draw us even closer to the Flame, to love, serve, adore, magnify, lift up and bless Your Holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Great God, King, Redeemer and Friend Who led Job to proclaim "though You slay me, I will trust in You". May this be our refrain. Amen

(Photo Credit Here)

PRAY FOR.....PERSISTENCE

Jesus said that we, Christians, should pray to the Father “In My Name” is so much that whatever we asked, will be granted unto us.  He also said, we have not because we ask not. Prayer is the only means by which we can communicate with our great God in Heaven and the Savior. We are doubly blessed among all people in that our Savior – Jesus Christ – also intercedes for us. Now, wrap your mind around that for a second: the Creator of untold galaxies; the human body and everything that lives and breathes – prays for us! (Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them - Hebrews 7:25).

One of the most important qualities the Messiah imputed and embedded in us, is the ability to persist, press on, press forward and stay glued to Him, in prayer. Notice, He gave us the ability. For some reason, most do not access this part of the spiritual brain, choosing instead to let others pray for them when the chips are down.  But we should – God has not given us a spirit of fear but the ability to defeat it and conquer through prayer. He does want us to persist in our prayer and worship life – DAILY.

Jesus gave us an example of persistence here in Luke 18:1-5: “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”

So how does this look, on the ground –where the rubber meets the road? How do we persist in prayer when we, as a people,  hardly ever pray because of culture, wealth or  whatever?  From personal experience,  Persistence in Prayer begins with Fasting.  Jesus did not do away with Fasting in the New Testament and in fact, in His Great Sermon on the Mount,  He explained Fasting as a given (i.e. “When you fast”  …three times - click link here to read ).  He also rebuked His own disciples who were unable to cast the demon out of a man’s son in Mark telling them that this type of divine victory can only be accomplished by fasting!

But what does fasting have to do with anything? In essence, it reminds me of discipleship on steroids. Jesus told us that unless we are willing to take up our Cross and follow Him (i.e. deny ourselves and our worldly desires) we cannot be His disciples. Fasting is a proactive step in denying our physical wants and needs for a day or two per month, or for as long as you wish. It is saying, in our spirits to the Lord,  “Lord, I desire You more than that sirloin steak or chocolate ice cream after a cheese burger. Lord, I want to put aside the desires of the flesh today, so I can pursue a closer walk with You, in spirit and in truth….a closer walk which will set me on a path in the pursuit of a more powerful prayer life. Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief and help me to press on and press in and forge ahead, just like the woman and the unjust judge in Your Parable, in Jesus’ Name amen”.

The Lord will not despise such a prayer, such an action or such longing for holiness even if we are new at this process of Fasting. Some may say they are medically unable to go without food for more than 4 hours etc. This is fine. Consult a doctor and see if a vegetable diet once a week will harm you. I use vegetable broth which is found in small containers in the organic aisle of the local grocery store. Nothing fancy.  The main idea is to give up something of earthly value, then to come to the Lord humbly with a repentant heart, and your bible, then to sit, pray, persist and worship and press on in His Presence.

Persistence in Prayer is very important if you and I are the only ones praying for a certain matter, concerning another person,  issue or condition. We stick with it and travail along in prayer until the Holy Spirit sends Word from heaven that we can stop praying now for this or that person or issue, because the answer is at hand.  We never let go until such time. However, this point is never attained to, unless we first understand the starting point – coming to the Throne of Grace completely in pursuit of His Presence and Power in our Prayer.
Amen

Therefore Father, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, I surrender myself at the Altar of Christ to be taught by You, just how I can lay a hold of what You have already pre-destined for me.  I desire knowing all there is about You and the Lord Jesus Christ and I pray for release from my bondage of self, sin and smugness so I can humbly yet boldly see You through prayer and fasting and supplication. Lord, please strengthen my ability to first start on the path to persistent and travailing prayer and to stay that course, no matter what the distractions and disappointments in life.  Lord, I pray  You take the focus of my heart, mind body and soul away from the mundane things of life this very day, and reorient me into the foundation of Prayer, so that I may flow naturally into the stream of sweet fellowship with You, according to Thy Will and Thy Purpose, in Jesus’ Name amen.

(Photo Credit Here)

PRAY FOR.....BOLDNESS

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 KJV)

The one True God of Heaven is merciful, loving, compassionate and accessible. He always was, is and will be to those who are called by His Name unto His special purposes.

Access to God is free and open 24/7, with the usual qualifier – you must be born-again. The very fact that the majority of western Christian are unaware of the access and authority we have as believers, testifies to weak church leadership. This does not change the facts on the ground. 

John 1:12 informs directly that "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name". In other words, when we believe, we receive. In addition, we not only receive but He gives us the right, the power, the dynamic authority to approach Him. On top of all of this, the Holy Spirit Who abides in those who believe and receive, shows us how to pray and interprets our weak words before sending them to Heaven.

Therefore, we above all, have the authority to pray for boldness in our prayers and daily lives and in all we do. Hebrews 4:16 encourages the following:
 -  We must be aware of our position, as Children of God. So now it is simple -come on in. This involves us being proactive in prayer. Reject passivity as most believers do, and just do something - walk forward. Brief and to the point.
 -  Then we are not only to take action, because of our relationship with God, but we can do so with confidence and yes, boldness. Boldness is NOT arrogance but is supreme confidence in the Supreme Judge and King of the Universe. The word "Confidence" is from the Latin "con-meaning with" and "fide-meaning Faith". When we are confident in our believe in God through Christ, we are exercising our Faith and doing so WITH Faith. This is the essence of Authentic Christianity.
 -  Next, if people only knew what the Throne of Grace was! Wow! Personal testimony informs my gratitude at the Grace God has freely extended to me ...and to all who believe. When we were dead in our sin, heading to eternal separation, it was God Who put His Spirit to work to draw me out so I could make a decision to follow Him. I did not do so on my own. Regeneration from death to live is so stunning. Even more so, we get to fall down at the Seat of ALL Love, Mercy, Compassion, Healing, Restoration, Reconciliation and more....all under the umbrella of Grace. This day, it will serve all Christians well to just let this sink in. The Throne of Grace - where the King of all Creation sits, is for the weak, humble at heart and the simple believers like us. What are we waiting for?
 -  Finally, why is this so crucial, as we pray for boldness and yes, loving kindness and the Hand of God? It is so, because this is the only place we CAN go. The Throne of Grace is where we find the Healing Hand of God, the Merciful Mighty Gaze and Magnanimity of the Messiah, the Loving Hands of the Lord....all open to us: rich or poor; sick or well; sinner or saint....and all we have to do is to take Him at His Word, walk up to His Heavenly Throne in humility and expectation and abide in His Truth. There is no greater thing. Amen.

Father in the Name of Jesus, seal these Truth in our hearts - that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us that we abide in the eternal realm with You. Father in my despair, when I was truly lost, You gave me the ability to choose You, because I had no idea how much I needed You. I repent of all my sins, I believe the Gospel as I did the first time and I surrender it all now at the Foot of the Cross and humble take up residence at the great Throne of Heaven, where You have given so much grace to do those who ask and believe and commit. Thank You, oh most kind and gracious Heavenly Father. Thank You Abba, that we have such access. Give us the more and more confidence in Your Word, Your Promises and give us the boldness we need to exercise our Knowledge of You, by walking, talking and drawing closer to You, every day of our temporary lives here on this earth, through Jesus Christ our Great God and King, in His Precious Name I pray, amen.

(Photo Credit Here) 

PRAY FOR.....DISCERNMENT

7 On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?” 8 And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, O Lord God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. 10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?” 2 Chronicles 1:7-10

If God were to offer you the opportunity to ask anything of Him and He would grant it, what would your request be?  The Lord Himself offered the same to King Solomon, who the Bible called the “wisest man in the world”. Solomon did something which most human beings would never do, but should. He asked for “BIYN” – the original word for “discernment”.

      When you think of all that people would ask for in today’s world: a million dollars; a new car; a house by the beach etc. etc….to ask for the ability to discern would be the last thing people in the 21^st century would ask for. Yet as we mature as Christians, it is indeed the perfect request. The general dictionary definition of Discernment is basically this: insight based on an acute sense of judgment  and understanding. The Christian definition of discernment is a little more involved. It is the ability to not just THINK biblically, but to understand what the Scriptures are saying and apply it to daily life.

We pray for Wisdom and acquire it from God through His Spirit, Study of His Word and Prayer. The ability to take this wisdom and apply it with a certain degree of effectiveness, is discernment. Godly Discernment can only come from an intentional daily walk and pressing in to the Source of all Goodness, Power and Wisdom – Almighty God! It comes from practicing in our bodies and lives what 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 instructs us to do: “Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil”.

This means:

-           -  Test all things: i.e. using all our God-given wisdom, tested by experience, prayer and the Bible, to discern what is true and what is of God, when faced with a live situation or circumstance.

-           -  Hold fast what is good: i.e. once you and I have discerned the right course after testing all things,  we hold on to it. We camp there. We stay the course in the righteousness of Christ.

-           -  Abstain from every form of evil: i.e. this then becomes easy, because our holding fast to righteousness after solid discernment warns us off evil temptation and tight spots…and thus, all evil.

What an amazing thing God has done for us! He graciously imparts His Wisdom in any size dose as we can handle then as we pray through this wisdom and worship Him and ask, He gives us His “biyn” – discernment to “work out our salvation”, thereby living the wonderful Christian life to maximum effect!

Father,  we thank You are a good, good Father Who gives good things to all who ask with a repentant and clean heart. We know Your Wonderful Eyes travel to and fro across the entire earth in search of those same hearts who are loyal to You.  We pray right now that You search our hearts and cleanse us from all impurity that we may be found worthy to receive Your Holy Wisdom, the Oracles of Heaven which represent such an amazing benefit of belonging to You and the Kingdom of Heaven. Thank You for drawing us even closer that we may come into our own, discerning the times and the trials and tribulations that we may make decisions based on Godly principles, attitudes and applications completely reliant on Your Amazing Attributes, dear Heavenly Father. We are most grateful above all, for the Cross of Christ which has enabled us to be reconciled to You, so that any of this could even happen in the first place! Thank You, oh God, thank You to the highest and most glorious praise, in the Name of the One Who gave it all that we may be free to serve You – the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

(Photo Credit Here)

PRAY FOR.....WISDOM

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

Wisdom and common sense are at such a premium these days that they shine out loud when deployed in plain view of this foolish era. The wisdom of God is a  whole lot different from the wisdom of man and most times, the two shall never meet. We can buy all the self-help books in Barnes and Noble or even a Christian bookstore. We can study the false doctrine of eastern mysticism from the Chopras and the Oprahs, but if your wisdom and worldview are not based on the Word and Oracles of God as found in the bible, they are all meaningless and a chasing after the wind.

The lost nature of man equals no true and biblical wisdom.  True wisdom comes from God and we see from the half-brother of Jesus that all we have to do is ask of God and He gives freely! The first thing we should note when asking God for Wisdom is how it begins to manifest itself in us.  That is, the fear/reverence/living-in-awe of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.  Without the proper concept of WHO God really is and the awe and respect He is due, we are no matter than the majority of this rebellious world which shakes its collective fists at Him.

So knowing that the Fear of the Lord IS the doorway to being wise in the Ways of God, we must endeavor to know why!  The Scriptures  itself gives us the reason for needing wisdom: 

- To perceive the words of understanding (Proverbs 1:2) 

-  To learn Godly self-discipline, so we can daily do what is right (Proverbs 1:3) 

-  To acquire insight into the things that mean the most in life: the basics; knowledge to provide for oneself and then to teach the next generation (Proverbs 1:4) 

-  To receive guidance from the Holy One, (via the Holy Spirit Who lives in those who are reborn in Christ),  in order to handle life’s challenges. (Proverbs 1:5)

Godly wisdom is the true knowledge of Heaven. He Who knew us from the Foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) is almost pleading with us to acquire His Wisdom. It is free and available to all who asks – in abundance! The Lord said in Proverbs 2:20-23 that His wisdom is clamoring for a home in His people. In fact, it shouts from the mountaintop of our hearts that “here I am, use me”! In Proverbs 2:23 God pleads “come listen to My counsel. I will share my heart with you and make you wise”.

LET US PRAY:  Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Kindness, Love and Compassion to us in that You found us in our sin and wandering in the wilderness of ignorance without a clue, yet in Your great mercy and long suffering, You have so freely offered the riches of Heaven – the knowledge of the Holy, the light of Eternity, the wellspring of Goodness – that we may be more like You. Lord, thank You. We cannot repay for this love You have given in the Oracles of God which You have shared with us. May we never lose sight of what we are yet to fully attain to, knowing that in this life, we will never come close to knowing the depths and heights and widths and lengths of the Ancient of Days and His great wisdom. Grant us the resolve to serve You, to remain humble and submitted before You and to never take our eyes of You – our Great God of Heaven, Who has given us life. We love, adore, worship, praise and obey You, to the Glory of Your Sovereign Name- the Name above all names – Jesus the Messiah. Amen.

PRAY FOR.....HUMILITY

He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way (Psalm 25:9).
If there is one thing God hates, it is pride. In fact, it was pride which led to the downfall of the once great worship leader of heaven - Lucifer, who declared himself to be greater than God. (Read here to see how vile Lucifer's pride was). The opposite of pride is humility - real humility, not the false which which causes the religious to stand in the market place like the pharisees did. They looked the part, appeared to be holy and acted like they were fasting, but their hearts were full of religious pride and sin before God.

Humility which causes God to give grace (while He resists and rebukes the proud) is not just a freedom from arrogance and pride, but a genuine, conscious and intentional attitude which regards others as worthy of your service and mine. It is the kind of meekness like Jesus, Whose meekness could never be confused with weakness. He was, after all, the Son of God. We are, after all, if we are born again, sons and daughters of God. Our meekness and submission to the Will of God (love God first and love others) is BASED on this positional truth!

To be clearer, our firm and sealed position as joint heirs with Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven is what affords us the privilege and opportunity to be like our Lord, and to be completely grateful for our salvation by walking this thing called Life out as, Micah 6:8 instructs us! God says this, which applies to our point: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8).

In this verse, we see the following:
- God has shown us what is good (our salvation and sealing via the Holy Spirit until the Day of Redemption or when we die and go to Him).
- Because of this fact, He requires something in return of all Christians: 
  1. Be fair with everyone in our dealings and to not take advantage of ANYONE.
  2. Love people and be compassionate towards them, as God is to us.
  3. Live a Christian life of surrender to Christ daily, in true humility.

This is an equation which gives life while summing up the Christian Journey. Most believers are somewhere along the scale of humility when converted from darkness to light. However, too many in the west use our wealthy churches and its ministries - from the vast and exciting world of Christian media and to parachurch ministry - use their position in Christ to not so much enrich themselves but as to become very turf-oriented, forgetting from whence cometh their gifting. So let us resolve to pray, no matter what our status in the Journey with Jesus, for humility and surrender as we begin each day, so that we may receive guidance, direction and blessing with a humble heart and soul. Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, I thank You that You gave Your Son as a ransom for many, that sinners - vile and unworthy though we are - could and would be saved if we believe the Gospel, repented of those sins and accept the finished work on the Cross for our salvation.  Help us to be more like Him oh Lord. To be like the Humble, suffering Savior Who gave Himself and served and loved and put others before Him, knowing all along that He was God, the Ancient of Days.

Help us to understand how blessed and fortunate we are as Your children, that we don't need to call down fire and judgment and hell from heaven on bad people, even though we may feel like it, but to remember at those times that we should be grateful that our names are written in Your Book of Eternal Life! Help us to put aside ALL encumbrances which clog our communication lines with you and could cause us to stumble that we may remain humble, like Your Servant Moses, whom You called the "most humble man ever on the earth". Lord, we love, adore, worship and magnify You and Your Name above all others and that includes, most certainly, ourselves. Help us to remember WHO You are so we can remember Whose we are and our lives will reflect this gratitude and truth, in the Mighty and Strong Name of Jesus, we pray, amen and amen and amen!!!

OTHER VERSES TO MEDITATE UPON TO GROW IN HUMILITY:

Matthew 18:1-4 “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

First Peter 5:5-6 “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” 

NEW SERIES: "PRAY FOR....RIGHT ALIGNMENT WITH GOD"

A NEW SHORT SERIES ON PRAYER

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5)
The most important relationship any human will ever have in this life is the one with God. I am not talking about the gods of your choosing, but the One True God of Heaven - Yahweh. Our heavenly Father has made this journey with Him even simpler and more intense, when He - Abba Father (Daddy) - sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth some 2000 years ago. 

This same Jesus, in the most important discourse in History on the Christian Life - the Sermon on the Mount said the following (Matthew 6:33) "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble". To get the full context of this verse, click here for the entire chapter of Matthew 6.

What the Lord is teaching us is this - our Faith is an intentional daily walk with Him which has to be recharged daily. We know from experience that several things occur during one 24 hour period which can alter the course of a life, change circumstances and even affect our worldview.  In life, we have more valley experiences than mountain top ones. Bad things are more apt to happen to a person, and especially a Christian, than good ones. Sometimes a good day is when things are status quo.

So God is calling for us to wake up each day with a certain mindset of overcoming those not so good days, when our vehicle of life is out of alignment. At those times we must fall back into zone coverage. That is, our relationship with God through Christ and its strength must be such that it can withstand incoming. This is the testing called for and it comes from recharging with Spiritual Food - a Holy Breakfast, if you will, when we wake up recharged physically.

But more than this, God is calling here in 2 Corinthians 13:5 for a testing the tensile strength of our relationship. This is why the Lord does not mind you and I asking Him questions, even in doubt. Because then, we can say to Him "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief". If more and more and us, search our hearts as Psalm 139:23-24 says "23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting"...and call for God to cleanse us and purify us and that the precious Supernatural Blood of Christ can make us clean as the wind-driven snow, we will pass this daily test with flying colors, and the rest of the day's events will pale, as we sail!

The steps here are really simple to a spiritual daily diagnosis - praising God for a new day and then checking to see if our heart, mind, body and soul are all pointed north to Him, by praying for the same, as indicated above. This gives us such comfort and rest in the promise, that we cannot help but say like Jeremiah shouted out in praise in Lamentations 3:22-25, the immortal words which became the great hymn of the Faith (Great is Thy Faithfulness): "22 Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him."