CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 686

“A Cup Full”

Psalm 16:5 (ESV) The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

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I recently read about a Russian priest named Father John Sergiev (1829-1908) that answered the call of God to minister to people in the slums of St. Petersburg. It is said that when he would encounter the down and out drunken people in the gutter he would look them in the eyes and tell them “This is beneath your dignity. You were created to house the fullness of God”. The priest continually sought to give people renewed hope and optimism by reminding them of who they were in Christ Jesus. He sought to fill their cups with Spiritual drink rather than liquid spirits.

What are you full of? What does your cup overflow with? Is it joy or bitterness? Do you exude hope or despair to those around you? Are you tempted to numb the pain of your circumstances by making others equally miserable or by filling your cup with drugs and alcohol? We are definitely living in some very challenging financial times right now and in the flesh it is difficult to maintain an optimistic outlook.

Lamentations 3:24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

What have you considered to be your portion in life that is now lost? Did you consider your portion to be your career or investment portfolio? Was your home your portion which has either lost value or about to be foreclosed upon? King David who had an abundance of wealth and property realized that his most prized portion was the Lord Himself as he penned Psalm 16.

Psalm 142:5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

The Psalmist declares that the Lord is his portion and his cup. The Hebrew word used here in the original text can be equally translated as chosen portion, share, and inheritance. The point of emphasis is that the abiding presence of the Lord Himself is a more valuable inheritance than any material possession that this world has to offer. Not only is the Lord his most valued possession it is also continually and forever abundant as David declares in Psalm 23:5 … my cup overflows.

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

David continues to declare that the Lord holds his lot. The original word here means to ‘hold fast’, ‘to be seized’, and ‘to keep’. The word ‘lot’ carries the meaning of a means for making decisions or a portion assigned. Either way you view it, the emphasis is that the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you. His decisions for you stem from His love for you and He will protect us from harm.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Does the fullness of God overflow in your speech and actions? Make the choice to rise to the level of dignity you have in Christ Jesus. Choose to empty your cup of anger and resentment because of your present circumstances. Scrape it clean of the crud of bitterness and choose the Lord as your portion and let Him overflow from your cup to others who need renewed hope and optimism.

Close in prayer, thanksgiving & rededication of your work to the glory of God