Topic(s): Love, Worship

A desert wanderer found a crystal spring of unsurpassed freshness and decided to bring some to his king. Barely satisfying his own thirst, he filled a leather bottle and carried it many days beneath the desert sun to reach the palace. By that time the water had become stale due to the old container in which it was stored. But the king tasted it with expressions of gratitude and delight, and sent away the loyal heart filled with gladness. After he left, others sampled it and expressed their surprise at how bad it was. “Ah!” said he, “It was not the water I tasted, but the love that prompted the offering.”

What we bring to God is marked by multiplied imperfections, but He looks beyond that to our motives. We may think our singing voice is “stale and rank,” but God listens with delight. Our prayers may not be filled with eloquence but God wants to hear what is on our hearts. Could our worship be better sounding, better looking? Perhaps! Yet God is primarily looking for the love that prompted the offering.

“...the LORD looketh on the heart” - 1 Samuel 16:7

On Prayer

Topic(s): Prayer

Paul, being a man of prayer, went to find others who believed in prayer (Acts 16). They met daily by the riverbank. Prayer is our greatest weapon against the devil. Paul had begun his Christian life on his knees (cf. Acts 9:11). Jesus spent whole nights in prayer (Luke 6:12). Whenever a man loses faith in prayer, he has lost his greatest element of power. Queen Mary declared she feared the prayers of John Knox more than the armies of her enemies. Though neither were New Testament Christians, they both believed in the power of prayer. Certainly we have greater belief in it!