Lord, I Need You

"Lord, I need you, oh, I need you. Every hour I need you. My one defense, my righteousness. Oh God, how I need you."

The idea for this morning's devotional came from an extended time of prayer I had with God this morning. Amidst my prayerful petitions, the Lord simply showed me how much I need him. My question for us this morning is this: do we have a constant awareness of how much we need the Lord?

Many of us have heard the song "Lord, I Need You." Many times I have sung that song, and truly meant it, but other times I have not. Oftentimes, I don't think we are truly aware of how much we need the Lord. Many times I have sang that song with a bitter, prideful heart. "Yes, the Lord is great," I would tell myself, "but I would be okay without him. I could live this live on my own, and I would be fine." Though we may never utter those words out loud, oftentimes we believe them in our hearts. Do we truly know how much we need the Lord?

There are so many ways in which we need the Lord. To name a few, we need him physically. We realize how much we need the Lord when we accept the fact that the very breath we breath we do not deserve. The fact that your heart is beating is a testimony to the grace of God. He upholds your physical life. We also need the Lord mentally. In order to live, one needs to think. In order to learn and grow, we must think. The Lord has given us the capacity to do so. He has given us the ability to love the him with all of our mind. We need the Lord even to simply think.

Yet, most of all, we need the Lord spiritually. Without him (as we have seen in Romans), we are dead in our sins, on the broad road to hell. Yet with God, we are saved. And not only does he save us, but he allows us to live daily with him. He not only justifies us to have a good legal standing with him, he reconciles us that we might be in good relationship with him--and enjoy him forever. We need the Lord as he is the only one who can save us, but also as he is the only one that can keep us, and give our hearts what it needs to be daily fulfilled with the peace of his presence.

So, are you constantly aware of how much you need the Lord? Do you think that you can live this life without him? Do you think you can get by on your own? Oftentimes, we answer that question by saying, "Certainly not! I am fully aware of how much I need the Lord." But are you? Here's the test: when is the last time you've prayed to the Lord, asking that he may do something in you that you cannot do on your own? When is the last time you've prayed to the Lord and truly expressed how in need you are of him? If it's been a while, then I would beg to differ that you are not fully aware of how much you need the Lord. If so, take this bold step: pray that he might show you how much you need him. Amen.