I urge you to prepare your heart today as you will each day. Through this process you will read Scripture, listen to music, watch videos, and read the thoughts of others. As you do so, position your heart in a place of prayer. Remove distractions. Ask God for clarity of mind and to make you aware of what He is speaking. Make yourself available to listen and to hear, not just at the start of the day, but throughout the day.
Today, as we start, we begin with the words of King David. Consider their meaning, and offer them as a prayer on your behalf:
O Lord, you have searched me
And you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways
Before a word is on my tongue
You know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in – behind and before;
You have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me
Too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there, your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
And the light become night around me,”
Even the darkness will not be dark to you;
The night will shine like the day
For darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well...
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
- Psalm 139:1-14, 23-24 (NIV)
Morning Questions:
What from this passage sticks out to you as you read it?
Do you identify with what David says? What do you have difficulty believing?
As you state, “See if there is any offensive way in me”, what comes to mind? What areas do you feel need to be addressed today?
Evening Questions:
How did you know God’s presence today?
