Today is the 17th day of Lent.   
 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”  
 
Today’s reading is from Psalm 81.


“Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings.
    O Israel, if you would only listen to me!
You must never have a foreign god;
    you must not bow down before a false god.
For it was I, the Lord your God,
    who rescued you from the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.
“But no, my people wouldn’t listen.
    Israel did not want me around.
So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,
    living according to their own ideas.
Oh, that my people would listen to me!
    Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!
How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!
    How soon my hands would be upon their foes!
Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him;
    they would be doomed forever.
But I would feed you with the finest wheat.
    I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”
 

The season of Lent is a time for us to turn back to God with all our hearts. This psalm tells the repeating tale not just of the nation of Israel but about our own personal lives. God has shown his power by rescuing Israel from Egypt, by rescuing us from sin, yet we continue to turn away from him. We follow our own ideas and pursue our own paths instead of following and pursuing God’s path. How would you characterize your own life right now? Are you pursuing God or have you been drawn to other paths?

Another song writer put it this way, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love: Take my heart, oh, take and seal it, with thy Spirit from above.” As you hear the passage again, consider how your heart is prone to wander from the God you love, and ask God to seal your heart with his Spirit again.
 
The Psalm ends with a reminder of what God wants for you: he wants to bless you! He wants to deliver you, he wants to feed you and to satisfy you! As we close our time of prayer, remind yourself that your path will be full of blessing as you choose to follow God.
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Music: Restore - Samuel Lane/Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)