21 Days of Prayer and Fasting: Kingdom Culture
Kingdom Culture: Praise Psalm 103
In our last two blogs we have looked at Kingdom identity and Kingdom exploits. As we seek to live Kingdom lives, let’s go forward with renewed Spirit-filled energy to develop a Kingdom lifestyle of worship and prayer. I love the Amplified version of today’s psalm:
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is deep within me, bless His holy name.
Psalm 103:1
Do I linger daily in the place of prayer, to ensure that all that is deep within me is turned towards the Lord? Am I quick to recognise if I am resisting surrender or obedience in any way
- in my relationships?
- in my use of time and money?
- in covering things over, instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to search out and explore every sense of dis-peace or uncertainty I feel.
Praise and worship tenderise our hearts. (It is worth noting that meat is tenderised by being bashed repeatedly with a wooden hammer - sometimes our hearts need tough treatment in order to bring out the best!)
In this well known Psalm, King David’s heart overflows with encouragements and reminders to praise and bless the Lord. Following his example of speaking aloud our praise, worship and affection praise to God is by far the best way of encouraging our own will, thoughts and emotions to come into alignment with what is good, loving, true and right.
Our own lives, individually and corporately, are a comparatively tiny moment within God’s immense plans and purposes. In verses 15 and 16 David puts into words the fragility of life as we know it. Being part of God’s Kingdom does not mean we are immune to life’s tragedies and accidents. So even when we are upset, hurt or suffering, lonely or grieving we can take courage from verse 17, the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. A millennium after David’s life, Jesus explained that suffering is an integral part of discipleship (eg Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world, John 16:33 NLT). As King David discovered, his Kingdom rules over all, v19 NRSVA. The Kingdom of God means that He has the last word, not suffering and evil.
If we embrace Kingdom culture we will be men and women after God’s own heart, like King David! (See Acts 13:22.) Despite the very public failures in David’s life, God looks at his heart. Of course, it is the same of us - if we practise the lifestyle of Kingdom culture, we will not let sin or disappointment overwhelm us because, like David, we know the God who does not punish us for all our sins… verse 10.
As we celebrate at the end of this period of prayer and fasting, let us
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord….
And all that is deep within me, bless His holy name.
- Catherine Horton