He calls God‘speople to bless Him, recounting how He preserved them through trials andrefined them like silver. After they endured hardships, God brought them to aplace of abundance. - P45
The psalmist vows to offer sacrifices and praise, affirmingGod‘s attentiveness to prayers and His steadfast love and mercy. - P45
Similarly,
when we experience refinement from God, the process can be chal-lenging, but through it we become more like Him. - P46
If wecherish God in our hearts, then we will speak, live, and pray in a waythat aligns with God‘s kingdom. If we cherish sin in our hearts, ourprayers will also reflect this. We will ask for the wrong things thenthink God has rejected us or does not love us when He answers in thenegative. - P46
Cherishing sin means that we have chosen idolatry over Godand value our idol more than Him. However, God desires to accept uswith open arms and lavish His love upon us. Instead of rejecting Him,
let us reject sin, maintain a reverential fear of the Lord, and set our lipsto praising Him. - P46
At times, some of the old lies or sin patternsstart to resurface. However, I am more aware of them now, and withGod‘s help, I am able to keep them from taking root once again. I anticipate future "surgeries" as God sanctifies me to become more likeHim. However, I am much more open to them now because I knowthat the painful process is absolutely worth it. - P47
When I face testing, help me overcome temptation and reject sin so that Youalways hold first place in my heart. In Your Son‘s name, amen. - P47
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