Free to Pray – The Law of Liberty (9)

Free to Pray

The Law of Liberty (9)

Readers will gain a better perspective on the main teaching of this series by reading The Ground for Christian Ethics, by T. M. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, click Publications, then click Waxed Tablet, and scroll down until you see this little volume.

If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. Proverbs 28:9

One of the great virtues of praying the psalms is that, in them, God recognizes our humanness. We can come before Him in any mood or circumstance and know that He will receive us readily and renew us faithfully. We do not have to be perfect, that is, in complete harmony with every jot and tittle of His Law, before we enter His presence with the needs of our souls.

This is because Jesus has made a way, through His own righteousness, for us to come in our unrighteousness to seek the blessings of God. Are we feeling alone and separated from God? Psalm 10 guides us to seek Him for renewal in His presence. Are we down, discouraged, or depressed? Psalms 42 and 43 are our pass to empty our weary souls before His altar in worship. Has the Spirit searched us and convicted us of sin (Ps. 139:23, 24)? In God’s presence Psalms 38 or 51 can teach us to confess and seek true repentance. Does anger grow within us because of the wickedness of men? We may express that anger in its fullness with Psalm 12 or Psalm 52. Do we fear or fret because of the prosperity of the wicked? Psalm 73 leads us through the temptation to hanker to be like them, and to find the way of escape through temptation to worship.

These psalms are of no abiding benefit to those who scorn the Law of God, whose very prayers God regards as an abomination (Prov. 28:9). But take the Law of God as the pathway for loving Him and your neighbor, and all your prayers will receive a gracious hearing, no matter the condition or mood in which you bring them.

God is not looking for perfection in us His people–though He calls us to seek and pursue it faithfully by walking in the path that Jesus walked (Matt. 5:48; 2 Cor. 7:1; 1 John 2:1-6). Even as we stumble and falter, time and again, we are free in Christ and free in the Law of liberty to bring our concerns before our heavenly Father, Who knows everything we need even before we ask (Matt. 6:32).

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.