The Best of the Portals of Prayer

Read: Psalm 26

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.”
Ecclesiastes 5:1

Reverent Christians

King Solomon asks for reverence by using a figure of speech in which a part – the foot – stands for the whole – the body. We are reverent when we use our feet to take us to church, and heed them as they guide us to paths of righteousness. We are reverent when, in God’s house, we use our minds to concentrate devoutly on the message. Our reverent attitude will not permit us to disturb, nor be distracted, lest we “offer the sacrifice of fools” [vs. 1], an outward display of devotion without serious, prayerful, heart-deep meditation.
We are reverent when in the sanctuary of the Savior we use our eyes to see the beauty of God in the art in the building, showing us God’s beauty, grace, and love. Outside the church, we will use our eyes to see the wonders of God in the grandeur of nature and turn them away from all that is shoddy, ugly, unclean, and evil.
We are reverent when we fold our hands in prayer in public and private and open them to the needy, when we use our knees to kneel in adoration and supplication and never bend them before an idol of any kind. We are reverent when we use our lips to sing with sincerity the praises of Jesus, our Savior, testifying of His goodness and mercy. Our reverent lives, refraining from all that is displeasing to God, will be, then, influential, exemplary, upright, noble, and sincere.

September 09, 1954