My Prayer is Pure...

My reading plan has me currently reading through the Book of Job and the Book of Acts. Today I was reading in chapter 16 of Job and I was floored. If you are not familiar with the Book of Job, I would encourage you to read it some time, especially in light of all the problems our nation is currently facing. There is no doubt that we have problems, but when you read the book of Job, God has a strange way of bringing things into proper perspective. You see Job was a man who had it all and lost pretty much everything except his own life and his wife. His belongings were all taken from him, his children this guy with from sitting on top of the hill to being underneath it. But all the while God was present and even in the darkest and the hardest of times Job holds fast to God. In Job 15, Job again is taking a barrage of assault once again from so called friends and nay-sayers, and in chapter 16 we see his reply. What I love about his reply is that you can fully see it comes from a heart that lives in deep intimacy with God. Job recants the things that have happened to him and how they have made him feel...so much so that this is what he states in verses 11 & 12; "God has turned me over to the ungodly and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked. All was well with me, but He shattered me; He seized me by the neck and crushed me." Wow! Have you ever felt like that. Like some how God has allowed your walls to come crashing down on you. But here's what you got to catch. Job, never loses sight of who God is and never allows his heart to lose reverence for the almighty. The key verses for me that showed me the depth of Job's heart were at the end of the chapter. Catch this...

My face is red with weeping,dark shadows ring my eyes;
yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure.
"Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest!
Even now my witness is in heaven;my advocate is on high.
My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a human being he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.

Job says even in spite of the hill of crap that I have had to go through my hands are free of violence and my prayer is pure! That is a heart that is centered and connected to God. Too many times I allow my circumstances to define my reality and because of that I miss the joy that can only come from Christ Himself. There is no doubt that in this life we will have problems, but Jesus said to take heart for He had overcome the world! May your prayer stay pure and may your heart find rest in God's grace and God's provision. God Bless You.