praying effectively: Proclaim Good Tidings (96)

(Psalm 96:1-13)

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
3 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; bring an offering and come into His courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire; tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all it contains;
12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 Before the Lord, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.

Reminder:  "praying effectively" involves knowing God's will.  When we pray in His will (in His name), He may choose to not answer those prayers in the time period that we would like, or HOW we would like - but He will answer those prayers!

It is God's will:
- that we gather together before God (96:8)
- that we give offerings to the Lord (96:8)
- that we worship the Lord in holiness (96:9)
- that we sing to the Lord a new song (96:1-2)
- that we bless His name (96:2)
- that we acknowledge and give the credit to God (96:7-8)
- that we proclaim the gospel message everyday (96:2)
- that we proclaim the gospel message and what the Lord has done everywhere (96:3)
- that we tell everyone the Lord reigns and is a fair Judge (96:10)
- that the whole earth trembles before the Lord (96:9)

Today's prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, You are Faithful and Righteous, and You will judge the earth accordingly.  You are my salvation, and I bless Your wonderful and holy name.  Give me opportunities!  Give me the words!  And give me the courage to share this good news!

You tell us to write new songs of praise because You are constantly working in our lives and accomplishing great things.  Help us to effectively give credit to all that You have done, all that You are doing, and all that You will do.  We see that You have faithfully fulfilled all prophecies up until this point in time, so we can trust that You will faithfully fulfill the remaining prophecies of Your coming again!  Help Your children to remain faithful and steadfast, desiring to become more and more like You!  Amen.