We ask for insight, Lord
by Ruth Olsen
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Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees … (Psalm 119:33).
Read Psalm 119:33–40
Have you ever read Psalm 119 in one sitting? Have you noticed the psalmist’s cry from the heart?
My NIV Study Bible describes Psalm 119 as a devotional on the word of God. It is most likely composed originally in writing (rather than orally) and intended to be read instead of sung or recited. Most of its lines are addressed to God, mingling prayers with professions of passionate devotion to God’s law, that is, to God’s word. The author humbly acknowledges the errant ways of his heart and life, the pain and fruit of the Lord’s discipline through affliction, and his suffering from those who are hostile toward him. Highlighted are God’s directives for life, and God’s promises. Shaping the psalm as an alphabetical acrostic, he uses eight verses for each Hebrew letter.
Hear the deep longing and desire of the psalmist’s heart in today’s reading. Can you make them your own requests of the Lord? I am so grateful that God’s Holy Spirit lives in me, teaching me, giving me insight to God’s word, deepening my understanding, changing my heart, renewing my mind, transforming me as a dearly loved child of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son of God, and by Jesus’ Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit.
The psalmist was crying out for a deeper work of God in him that would enable him to walk in the ways of the Lord, to take God at his word into daily life. He was hungry for a growing relationship with the Lord, recognising that only God could turn his heart toward the Lord and turn his eyes away from worthless things.
Jesus knew the psalms, and I can imagine he joined the psalmist in this cry of the heart, for Jesus was limited in becoming one among us (Philippians 2:1–11) but relied on the Holy Spirit to help him in whatever way needed. Likewise, let us be intentional in relying on the Holy Spirit to bring God’s word alive in us and through us.
Lord, we ask for insight into, and understanding of, your word and ways every day.
Ruth is Steen’s other half, lives in Adelaide, and loves reading. From the Bible, books on Christian living, biographies, especially of someone’s journey of faith, through to Reader’s Digest, the Inquirer section of The Weekend Australian, or travel information etc., many things are opened through reading. That’s also why she enjoys helping Afghani women learn to read and write in English, when they were denied that opportunity with their own language as children.
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