10-30-05 Psalms 66:18-20

Psalms 66:18-20 (KJ21)
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. But verily God hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!

Psalms 66:18-20 (NAS)
If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His lovingkindness from me.

Psalms 66:18-20 (NIVUS)
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Psalms 66:18-20 (NLT)
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer and did not withdraw his unfailing love from me.

As a child of God, it is important what you look at and hear on a continual basis; for the Lord God has created you to have faith. Faith gives substance to those things that you imagine and envision.

If you constantly regard and give your attention to wickedness, trouble, and sorrow, then your actions will start lining up with your thoughts and imaginations. Your faith will be developed, but it will be focused on negative, evil things. Your heart, though once centered on Adonai, will soon be enveloped in sin. If that should happen, your Lord and Master will no longer listen to you; for He will not be able to grant your distorted requests.

However, in fact, you know that God does listen to and pay attention to you; for you are His child, created in His image. Like a nursing mother, Adonai inclines His ear to the slightest sound of your cry. He does not pass over your prayers; they are never light or frivolous to Him.

It is the Lord Jehovah's desire to bless you and those blessings usually come in response and answer to your prayers. Whenever you pray and intercede, God is quick to intervene on your behalf. He wants you to be a recipient of His goodness, kindness, and faithfulness. Instead of reproach and shame, the Lord your God gives you abundant mercy.