Prayers and Promises for Worried Parents by Robert J. Morgan

Author:Robert J. Morgan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books

LEARNING

55

What to Say When You Talk to Yourself

Troubled parents generally love Psalm 103, a cloudless chapter devoted exclusively to counting our blessings and lauding our Lord. It contains nothing but praise. No dismal moods, no requests, no petitions, and no problems. Sometimes we need to breathe such bracing air.

In this psalm, King David used his well-honed technique of talking to himself to speak the truth to his soul about his blessings and benefits in God. In addressing his own soul, he wrote:

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things.

—VERSES 1–5

Paraphrasing his words for my own use, I would say: “Self, you’ve been in the dumps long enough—fretting, fearful, fainthearted. It’s time to shake it off. Cheer up! Remember God’s blessings. Don’t forget His benefits toward you. You’ve forgotten His divine presence. You’ve overlooked His promises. Enough of that! Acknowledge the Lord’s blessing, O my soul, and all that is within me—from head to foot—bless His holy name.”

David then takes us on a little tour of the benefits and blessings enjoyed by God’s children.

The first stop is the courthouse, where we remind ourselves that the Lord has declared us “Not guilty!” by virtue of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary: “Bless the LORD, O my soul . . . who forgives all your iniquities” (verses 2–3). Later, in verses 11–12, he uses a graphic comparison to underscore the immensity of God’s forgiveness, telling us that as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us.

A law student visited me recently. He had fallen into deep and prolonged sin at his fraternity and felt smothered in guilt. His face bore signs of weary despair, and his eyes could hardly look at me. “I’ve confessed and confessed my sins,” he said sadly, “but I can’t imagine God has forgiven me.”

I picked up my book of daily Scripture readings and turned to the page on God’s forgiveness. “Read these verses to me,” I said. He began crying as the Scripture’s powerful truths flushed the hopelessness from his soul. By the end of the verses, he had begun to sense that he could be clean again, that God would forgive to the uttermost.

Next, Psalm 103 takes us to a hospital. It reminds us that God not only forgives all our sins, but also heals all our diseases. I believe this refers to every type of disease—physical, emotional, and spiritual. I don’t accept the assertion that God always heals all our physical diseases in this life—that runs counter to the overall teachings of Scripture and to the actual experiences of Christians. Even the apostle Paul was not healed of his thorn in the flesh, mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:7–10. Nevertheless, God can give physical healing in answer to prayer, and He often does.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.