Faithbase

We're back again, praying the Bible, and I left off yesterday at verse 22, 23, right around there. So what I'm going to do is pick it up at 23 and read 23 and 24. So this is Psalm 18, and we are working our way through this Psalm. Verse 23, I was also blameless before him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanliness of my hands in his sight. O Lord God, we are blameless before you on account of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We can't say this enough. Each day we should come before you and give thanks, fall on our knees before you in joy and in thanks and say thank you, Lord, that we are blameless before you because of Jesus Christ. Lord, we want to live that life that is pleasing to you. We want to have our very thoughts or the words we speak, and Lord, so often the words that we speak are not blameless. We tear others down. The scripture tells us there are people who speak, their words are like swords, and then they do damage, Lord God. We can build up or we can tear down just by words. And Lord, I pray that this morning we will be blameless, that we will have the covering of Jesus Christ upon us, that we will put him on, put on his righteousness and like a cloak that will not just rest upon us, but permeate us through and through, I guess you could say. As I just think about that, I think about being permeated from the skin all the way to the center and then out the other side, that your presence, your righteousness, we are infused with that, and I pray that we can express that, especially in the way that we speak, Lord God. This morning that seems to be on my heart that I pray that you'd forgive me for the times that I do not speak with blameless lips, but instead I say sharp words, and I pray that you'd forgive me for that. Lord, I pray that each one of us that are praying together this morning, if we've used harsh language or sharp words towards others recently, that we would be quick to come before you in prayer to ask for forgiveness, and also quick to ask for forgiveness of those that we have offended that way. So Lord, we are blameless before you, no question about that, in Jesus Christ, and our step, our part of this is to keep ourselves from iniquity, that being in Jesus Christ does not mean that we are some kind of a robotic being, but we still have the duty, the privilege, to keep ourselves from iniquity. And Lord, when we are walking in righteousness and truth and peace, we are blessed. You recompense us according to our righteousness. You give us blessings. Our lives become far more peaceful. They become a joy to others, Lord God. Each one of us, our life can be a joy to those around us, and so I pray, Lord God, that as we do what you ask us to do, as we live a life that is pleasing to you, that you will bless us, that we might bless those around us. Watch over us today, I pray, and I ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.