Passage of the Day - April 29, 2011

Ecclesiastes 5:1-3

 ¹Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.

 ²Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

 ³For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.

“let your words be few”.  What an affront to spirituality!  Aren’t having long, eloquent prayers a sign of great spirituality?  Shouldn’t we be shamed for our short prayers?  Shouldn’t we be shamed for spacing out during the magnificent long prayers of others?  Or is it that we should be short and to the point?  Perhaps a little less talkin’ and a whole lot more listenin’.  Perhaps we should even think about what we actually bring up to God in the first place.  If, while we pray, we remember the simple fact that our life is all about Him and not all about us, our prayers will be focused more on what God is doing in us and through us and less on what God is doing for us.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)