Before we pray together, let's first understand the goodness of God and then we will pray together. There is hardly a book of the Bible that doesn't mention the goodness of God. Scriptures abound about his goodness.
Psalm 107:es 8-9 particularly testify of this. It says, "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men, for he satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness. " Psalm 34:8 says, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. " And perhaps one testimony that rings out above them all is the words of David in Psalm 27:13 when he says, "I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. " So what exactly is it about the goodness of God?
The Bible makes one declaration boldly, and it has never taken it back or stuttered over it. This simple statement of fact echoes through the Old and the New Testament unrepentantly to tell everyone who cares to hear and read through the pages of this book that the Lord is good. Psalm 119:68 says, "You are good and do good.
Teach me your statutes. " Another testimony in Psalm 135:3 says, "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good. Sing to his name, for it is pleasant.
" In fact, besides other parts of scripture that tell us that he is good, the psalmists in the book of Psalms seem particularly interested in engraving it in our memory that the Lord is good. They say it so often that perhaps we won't forget. A heart that has seen the goodness of God hardly forgets.
And these men of old have surely seen that God is good. In fact, David in Psalm 27 verse 13 says, "I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. " And these are the words of a king, not that of a mere man on the streets of Israel.
And this is his testimony. One of the first testimonies we have of God in the very first book of the Bible is that everything God made was good. And this is a large part of his goodness because only good can bring forth good.
And this is the first showing of his goodness to us because the earth was made for us to inhabit. Now, the question I truly want to ask this morning is, have you seen the goodness of God? Do you believe in the goodness of God?
Do you walk in the goodness of God? Scripture doesn't just tell us that the Lord is good. Even within its recorded text, we see places where God shows his goodness abundantly, where he promises his goodness abundantly, and he longs to show them to us as well.
It is good for us to look at these passages of scripture. They are beautifully written and desirable and they give comfort. In fact, the renditions of the psalmists often border on poetry.
When they speak, the words are riveting. But we must understand that the Bible is living alive. When God speaks in the pages of scripture, he speaks for action.
He speaks reality. And the reality of this moment is that the goodness of God is real. It is available.
It is made for us. And it is absolutely necessary that we have and walk in it. This is the reality every believer must live in.
This is the reality every believer must step into. Without the goodness of God, life is not as it should be. Life becomes empty.
Particularly as believers. When we don't key into the fact that everything God has for us is good and that we can live by those things, our lives aren't very much different from those of unbelievers. We can't claim a supernatural redemption and refuse the supernatural life that accompanies it.
We can't claim supernatural redemption and live absolutely natural lives. It's almost an insult to everything salvation offers us and a waste. What then does it mean to walk in the goodness of God?
What qualifies us for this goodness? To walk in the goodness of God ourselves, we must first acknowledge and understand that God is good. And this is not just a feel-good statement.
That small sentence you hear in Christian circles is the greatest declaration of truth there is. And its repetition is profound. And I believe that repetition helps us to engrave it in our minds and hearts and believe it because we absolutely must believe it.
That belief is the second thing we must have after knowing we must believe it for ourselves. Now this may seem a bit of a repetition to you but believe me it's not. I have met people who know that God is something and can do something, can do this or that, can provide, can heal, but they have never been able to claim it for themselves because they simply don't believe it for themselves.
So, we must believe that God is good, not just generally, but that he is good to all of us individually. He is good to you and he wants and is willing to show you that goodness every day if you will let him. This brings a very familiar scripture to mind.
Psalm 23 verse 6. We are all very familiar with the King James version of this scripture and it says, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. " Now, I love this version so much because even from it, we can see the intention of God.
God's goodness and his mercy follow us. But I also want us to look at how the New Living Translation renders it. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
His goodness is literally pursuing you, running after you, so to speak. Imagine what that looks like practically. God's goodness is literally chasing you.
And just so you know, there is no one else God would rather be good to than you. He calls you his beloved, his holy nation, his handiwork. He crafted us to specially inhabit his earth.
He calls us kings and priests made in his own image. The whole of his goodness abounds towards us with his full consent. We just have to be intentional about walking in it every day.
If you want to start living in God's goodness today, if you want to start walking in his goodness, then I welcome you together. Let us say this prayer together this morning as we key into that goodness. Dear heavenly father, I thank you for your word, for being mindful of me.
I thank you for causing me to see what it truly means to walk in your goodness. Thank you for helping me to see that God's goodness is for me, that it abounds towards me and that he is ever willing and ever ready to bless me. Thank you, Father.
To you alone be all the glory. Father, in Jesus' name, I ask for your grace this morning. Please help me walk in your goodness with understanding, confidence, and faith.
Lord, I'm tired of a dull life. Tired of living below what Christ has made available to me. I'm tired of struggling, barely getting by, just surviving when I know you offer abundance, fullness, and overflowing life.
I know there is so much in you and so much you have already given through Christ. So today, Father, please help me stop thinking small about your promises. Help me stop expecting less when you have spoken of abundance.
Help me stop settling for dryness when you have provided rivers of living water. I refuse to live in lack when I know you provide abundance. I refuse to accept pain as my portion when I know my heavenly father has a better path and better provisions for me.
I refuse to read your words truths and admire them from afar as if they belong to someone else. I refuse to hear testimonies of your goodness in others lives and think I must be the exception. No, Lord, today I stand firm in all that Christ has made available through his goodness.
I stand firm for myself and for my family. From now on, Father, I choose to accept only what comes from your provision and goodness. I reject lack, confusion, heaviness, and pain.
I refuse every old burden and any condition that goes against the truth of your goodness. I trust that your plans for me are good, not evil, and that you want to give me a future filled with hope. I know your thoughts toward me are full of mercy, kindness, and purpose.
Lord, beyond all the blessings I might receive, please help my heart. Let the goodness I see in you change me deeply. Renew me from the inside out.
Change how I think, how I respond, how I live, and how I see others. Let your goodness not only provide for me, but also transform me. Make me gentle where I have been harsh, tender where I have been hard, and grateful where I have been blind.
Help me become a better person in Christ. From this moment on, I choose to be good. As I receive the Lord's goodness and live the life you've given me, I want to grow into a better person.
I don't want to take in your kindness and stay the same. I don't want to enjoy your love and still be unkind to others. So, Father, please let what I receive from you show in how I act, speak, think, and relate to others.
Help me share the same goodness and love you've shown me with those around me. Let my life reflect your nature. Let my words be full of grace.
Let my actions show mercy. Let the proof of your goodness in my life be clear, not just in what I receive, but in who I become. Father, in Jesus' name, I ask you to help me stay consistent with you.
Teach my heart to enjoy fellowship and to keep focusing on you. Protect me from weariness and carelessness. Don't let me grow cold in prayer, in your word, or in seeking you.
I pray I never get tired of coming into your presence to learn more about you and to deepen our relationship. Help me find joy in fellowshipping with you, in reading your word, and in prayer. Let these not feel like duties, but the joy of my soul.
Teach me to love being with you, to hunger for your voice, and to value our time together above all the distractions of this world. I choose to walk in your goodness every day from now on. I choose to trust in your provisions and rest in your loving arms.
Starting today, living in your goodness is my top priority. I promise not to live apart from your presence anymore. I will stop having small thoughts when your word speaks of great things.
I won't expect less because your heart is full of goodness and mercy towards me. I declare that goodness and mercy will follow me all my life. I declare that your favor surrounds me, your hand supports me, and your love protects me.
I declare that my life will show that the Lord is good. Father, I say thank you again for this word. I say thank you for your goodness that permeates my life from now on.
I say thank you for its intentionality. And I say thank you because you have never neglected to bless me out of your abundant goodness. Thank you again because I know and settle it in my heart that from this moment your goodness and mercy pursue me all the days of my life.
Thank you for answering my prayers. Thank you for the provision of your goodness. To you alone be all the glory.
Amen. If you have prayed this prayer with us this morning, then I welcome you to a new season in the coming days. I pray that every blessing in this prayer will rest upon you in the name of Jesus.
If you need a special prayer today, we would be honored to pray for you. You can leave a comment below and I ask all our viewers to also pray over those prayer requests. It is our humble prayer that we would come together and pray for one another.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
