I am grateful, Father, that You are active in my life. Just thinking through last night, I know, I have no doubt whatsoever, that Your hand was upon me. I was up once in the early hours of the night, and then around 2:30 I was wide awake and could not get comfortable in bed – but You were with me! I went to the couch and changed sides a couple times but was not up again until Your gentle call before 6:00 to begin my day. You are at loving Father…and I love You, too!

Matthew 5:33-37 (<<click the green)

Lord, as I sit here pondering Your word one of the first things that popped into my head was prayer. (And I do not believe it was just a random thought!) One of the things I have dealt with over the last couple of years was being true to my word when someone has asked me to pray for a specific need or situation.

Growing up in the church it is almost a knee-jerk reaction when someone requests prayer to answer “yes”. But many times I would say “yes” but later realize that I never did. It wasn’t intentional…it was negligence. I meant to…I wanted to…but I didn’t….

So now when someone asks for prayer, I don’t just say “yes” but I take the time right then and whisper a prayer, and quite often I will pray that the Holy Spirit will enable me to remember to pray later as well.

Just this morning, before sitting down to write, I saw a request for prayer on Facebook. So before I “liked” it and before I commented, I prayed. Saying I will and not doing so accomplishes nothing.

And, Lord Jesus, that’s what You are talking about here in this passage of Scripture – not about prayer specifically but about following through with what we say we will do. This is one of those passages that the wording of the King James Version sticks in my head from my youth. The New King James Version puts the last verse this way,

“…let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” v37

May I continue to be a man of my word, Lord. When I say “yes” or “no” may others know that that is true through and through. I don’t want to leave them wondering. Amen.\

Nov 14th, Tues, 6:19 am