But if that salt has lost its flavor It ain't got much in its favor.

A Request for Presence

Set a watch before my mouth, O LORD, and guard the door of my lips; let not my heart incline to any evil thing. Psalm 141:3

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Jesus taught us, saying: ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden.’ Matthew 5:14

So Mary Anne was teaching yesterday at Vineyard City Church; The Psalms are our prayerbook and they invite us into the house and the heart of our loving God. And we walked through pretty much the whole book, with song and drama so that the truths would sink in deeply. And that was pretty much the thrust of City Psalms to help us to pray for and serve our city. Psalms are for praying. And “psalms” means “the words accompany instrumental music.” And may these His Psalms accompany my beating heart, singing in my heart all day long, an unceasing prayer to carry through the day. And may the disturbing thoughts that seem to distract us be transformed into the ongoing praise of God. And may I realize that prayer is neither more nor less than the constant practice of the presence of God at all times and in all places.

And yesterday I turned to “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me,” when the meditation of my heart drifted, with the aching, helpless heart of the blind man by the side of the road. Or the Canaanite woman who was at the end of her hope. Tracy reminded me yesterday that the moment we crossed the French border this summer, we rolled our little bicycles straight into a dark, dark long tunnel full of rushing traffic with only the tiniest gleam of light in the far-off distance. And this was her prayer: Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.

And may I live at the end of my hope in me today. May my eyes be fixed on Him, my Strength and my Redeemer, undistracted.

And may my light shine.