Genesis 11:4: “Then they said, “Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
Bible Prayers
The tower of Babel story reveals the rebellion in the human heart. The goal of the people was not to glorify God but to make a name for themselves. God knew that this would only lead them away from God. As a result he confused their language. It forced the people to scatter all across the earth. It reshaped the development of future cultures.
I ask myself, “What do I really want out of life?” What is it that I am really seeking?” I have lived a life searching for happiness; it has always led to a dead end, in the long run it never satisfied. The pursuit of happiness is not the answer. Happiness comes and goes depending on how well things are going. When I surrendered my life to you, Lord, I found joy. That joy that comes from the inside, from the Holy Spirit. It does not depend on outside circumstances. My sin nature tries to go back to my old way of life, a life searching for a happiness that is superficial. I left a life full of dead end roads that never satisfied. When I start to drift from you, as I so often do, I pray that you shake me, convict me, that I become aware of the wrong turn that I am making.
Why am I so easily distracted with earthly things? Things that are temporal, that have no eternal value? I get so busy with the claims of the world that I become deaf to your calling. I get so preoccupied with life here that I forget what really matters. Lord, set me on the right path, I need your guidance.
I will never forget the day that you came into my life. The joy, the love that enveloped me. I wanted to run and shout to every one that you were real. That one moment defined the rest of my life.
As I age, I realize how transitory my stay on earth is. What a difference between the eternal reign in heaven that I will have with you and this short journey here on earth. Help me to live a life that pleases and glorifies you.
By Lissette Trahan