03Apr09 Fri Lamentations 3: 40 - 41 KJV
One Wednesday evening back in 2007 at a prayer meeting in church, my pastor asked us what prayer meant to each of us. A common question, I thought, for I've heard such questions being asked from time to time. Nevertheless, the answers were far from trivial.
When it came to my turn to share, these verses from the Lamentations of Jeremiah came to mind:
"Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens."
The prophet Jeremiah wrote these words at a time when the Israelites were suffering from the wrath of God. He fervently confessed the sins of his own people and urged them to turn again to God - by lifting up their hearts with their hands.
While we are more accustomed to lifting weights with our hands in the gym, it is essential to add a new cardiovascular workout to our routine - to learn to lift up our hearts to God in our prayers. In some of the older churches, worship on Sunday and the Communion at the Lord's Table is carried out with a call by the leader:
"Lift up your hearts."
And the congregation will respond:
"We lift them up to the LORD."
Have our daily prayers become stale and routine lately? Let us lift up our hearts to God.
