O You who hear prayer...

"Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will fulfilled. O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy. You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing." - Psalm 65

This psalm really began to minister to me this morning. God began speaking to me through it. As does most scripture, these verses have multiple layers of meaning. On one level it is a celebration of God's mighty work in the natural processes of providing water, etc for the harvest.
But God began to speak to me on a different level this morning through this psalm. What if this psalm is not only a celebration of God's handiwork in our ecosystem, but also a celebration of the spiritual harvest God is about to reap in our land? O sure, the orthodoxy nazis will scoff - and think I'm reading more into this than God intended - and only time will tell - but I encourage you to read this psalm through the lens of the harvest of souls that God is going to reap in our nation, on the earth, and in our town. It lines up with the idea found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that if we pray God will hear, forgive and heal our land. It lines up with the various prophetic words given about this area experiencing Isaiah 35. God, may you crown this year with your bounty, and may your carts overflow as you gather in an avalanche of souls. May the hills of the Palouse be clothed with gladness. May the meadows of the Palouse be covered with flocks of new believers. May our valleys be mantled with grain, O Lord of the Harvest - we ask you to raise up the laborers for the harvest is plentiful, but the workers few. "The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it." - God you have ordained an abundant harvest in this land. Pour out the water of your Holy Spirit like you promised through the prophet Joel. We saw a partial fulfillment of that on the day of Pentecost. Show us the fullness of this promise. Pour out your Spirit on all flesh. Let there be dreams and visions in this land. You said that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10) And Joel said that we would all prophesy. And when would this happen? "Afterward" - according to Joel. After what? After Joel 2:12-17 happens. After we return to the Lord with all our hearts with fasting and weeping and morning. After we rend our hearts and not just our garments. After we blow the trumpet in Zion declare a holy fast and call a sacred assembly. After we consecrate ourselves and cry out for God to "Spare your people, O Lord." - It seems to me that this is what we are doing here in this prayer sanctuary. If not, then we should be. Religious rituals will not bring the outpouring we long for. Whole-hearted consecration, prayer and fasting will.

The psalm began with praise for the God who hears our prayers, who forgave our sins, who answers us with awesome deeds of righteousness. This is the God to whom all men will come. This is the One whom those far away fear His wonders. This is the one who calls forth songs of joy. May those songs of joy fill your hearts. He has ordained a day of abundant harvest. Cry out "O you who hear prayer"...He is listening.