O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. Psalm 5:3
In King David’s time, the Hebrews still offered animal and grain sacrifices to God. The book of Leviticus goes into great depth what they were to sacrifice, how and when. There were sacrifices for thanksgiving, for atonement of sins, even a goat sacrifice for the wrongdoings of a whole village. They would send all of their ” sins” out on a goat – which is where we get the term scapegoat.
As Christians, we know that Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins, and poured out his blood as an atonement for all who confess. Once and for all. Our price was paid. So God doesn’t require sacrifices anymore, right?
Wrong. He asks us to sacrifice our time for His service. To give at least a tithe of ten percent of our earnings in recognition that all comes from Him. But more than that, He demands we sacrifice our old ways so we can take on a new life in Christ. We lay upon the altar selfishness, greed, pride, idolatry, and hate.
I don’t know about you, but there is still a great deal of flesh that clings to this spiritual body of mine. This Psalm verse reminds me that in order to start my day off right, I need to lay it on the altar each morning- first thing. Then at the end of the day, do it again. Sandwich my day in prayer, giving it to Him who knows best. Yielding my will to His- again – because I still live in this world and it can still taint me if I am not careful.
Other Bible translations say” direct my prayer” instead of “prepare a sacrifice” for this verse. Prayer is a worthy sacrifice of our time, our will and our thoughts.
Have you sacrificed to God today? Have you laid your sins, anxieties, negative thoughts and wrong attitudes on the altar of your heart and ask Jesus’ blood to cover them? If not, may I suggest you do so now. Then like the Psalmist – watch. See how your day changes, how you feel His presence with you, how your attitude alters for the better.
