Promises to God

In some of the psalms, it seems as though the Israelites are bargaining with God. In this one, it looks as if they are reminding God of all the good things he has done for them – even though they keep going their own way – and asking once again for another chance to do the right thing and follow him.

What about us? I know that I have asked God for help and have promised to do better in the future, or that I would do something to say thank you. I might remember to do what I promised for a day or two, or maybe even a week or two, but eventually, I forget.

It’s the middle of January. Are you and I still keeping our New Year’s resolutions? I hope so! But promises to God have much more importance than promises to ourselves. For one thing, we expect God to fulfill our requests and to forgive us when we forget to do our part of the bargain. If we haven’t already done so, perhaps we can make a resolution to pray a little more each day: to spend more time reading Scripture or to take more time volunteering in our church or civic community.

Perhaps the best thing we can do in the New Year is to work for justice for an individual or a cause. We can visit a nursing home, read for preschoolers, phone an elderly friend or relative, or work for better access for the handicapped. There is so much need! Perhaps the only thing we can do is pray! Don’t ever discount the power of our prayers. We can pray for our civic leaders and our world leaders that they might understand the importance of justice in their decisions. If nothing else, we can pray that God’s will be done each day. I’m sure you can think of ways to thank God for his goodness that are far better than my suggestions.

May we all do better in this New Year.

Lord, you have done so much for us. Help us to be more faithful in doing what we can to follow your will. Amen.