My Inbox of Daily Inspirations: Daily Heartlight -- April 8, 2008

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April 8, 2008

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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================

The Prayers Are Ended, by Tom Norvell

In the New International Version of the Holy Bible, Psalm 72:20 reads:
"This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse." The Amplified Bible
reads like this: "The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended."

In the two previous verses David concludes his prayers with these
words:

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,

who alone does marvelous deeds.

Praise be to his glorious name forever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and Amen

(Psalms 72:18-19 NIV).

There may be no great theological significance to the statement, "The
prayers of David son of Jesse are ended"; however, they prompt me to
ask: How will I conclude my prayers? I'm not talking about the prayer
at the end of the day or the prayer before a meal or the prayer before
I write an article or the prayer before I preach a sermon or the prayer
at a graveside or the prayer at a bedside. How will conclude my
prayers? When it's all over and, as John Ortberg says, "It all goes
back in the box," how will I conclude my prayers? (From John Ortberg's
When the Game Is Over It All Goes Back in the Box)

Will I be making one more request for some physical need to be met?
Will I be asking for one more favor? Will I be pleading my case? Will I
be making an excuse for not living the way I should have, or the way I
wanted to but didn't? Will I be asking Him a question about why He
acted in one way, or why He did not act in another?

I wonder how I will end my prayers.

David had done many wonderful things in his life. He had done some
awful things in his life. He had accomplished much. He had seen a lot.
He had missed a lot. He had messed up in big and small ways. He had
sinned and been forgiven. He had seen God's glory and God's great
deeds. So have I.

Yet, when his prayers were concluded (at least those we have recorded
for us in Psalms), he did not speak of his deeds, his needs, or make a
request to succeed. He concludes with:

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,

who alone does marvelous deeds.

Praise be to his glorious name forever;

I hope I will.

may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and Amen

(Psalms 72:18-19 NIV).

I hope I will. I don't know when the prayers of Tom Norvell will end,
but I hope that the time between now and then will be lived in such a
way that my prayers will conclude with these words:

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,

who alone does marvelous deeds.

Praise be to his glorious name forever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and Amen

(Psalms 72:18-19 NIV).

I hope you will, too.

---------
(c) 2008 Tom Norvell <tomnorvell@mac.com>. Used by permission. A
Norvell Note <http://www.anorvellnote.com> is a weekly email
message from Tom Norvell. Check it out!

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Daily Heartlight -- April 8, 2008