Psalms – Prayers of Honesty and Praise
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was a younger lady who cuddled up in her bed after her kids had gone to bed to study for finals. She was meticulously going over classroom notes once more for her Masters program finals in four classes. She had a little light on so that her husband could sleep. After teaching first graders all day then hurry to another town for classes at the University, this was when studying had to happen.
Around midnight, praying I would do well, God spoke to my heart and gave me new insight about my life. With piles of classroom notes and textbooks on my lap, the words I heard God say were, “What if you studied my Word and ways as hard as you study for the world’s expectations of you?” Wow. I will never forget this eye-opening experience with God. I put down the textbooks and opened His Word to our next Psalm that educates us about the stewardship of our lives.
Psalm 119 is long with much to be learned. But, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Someone told me that once. After I got passed the picture of me eating an elephant, I got it! So this is how we will learn and grow together…one morsel of truth at a time, a mouthful to chew on, until we understand and mature from it’s implications and application to our lives. Ready?
Psalm 119, The MessagePart One
1-8 You’re blessed when you stay on course,
walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
don’t ever walk off and leave me.
DID YOU KNOW???
The emphasis is on the vital ministry of the Word of God in the inner spiritual life of God’s children. It describes how the Word enables us to grow in holiness and handle the persecutions and pressures that always accompany an obedient walk of faith.
The psalm is an acrostic with eight lines in each section, and the successive sections follow the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In Hebrew, each of the eight lines of 1-8 begins with the Hebrew letter aleph, the lines in 9-16 begin with beth, in 17-24 with gimel, and so on.
In various translations you will see that the unknown author used eight different words for the Scriptures: law (Torah), testimony, precept, statute, commandment, judgment (in the sense of “a rule for living”), word (of God), and promise. Since we do not know who wrote the psalm, we cannot know for certain when it was written, but our ignorance need not hinder us from learning from this magnificent psalm. Whoever the author was, he is a good example for us to follow, for he had an intense hunger for holiness and a passionate desire to understand God’s Word in a deeper way. In all but fourteen verses, he addresses his words to the Lord personally, so this psalm is basically a combination of worship, prayer, praise, and admonition.
In the psalm, there are no references to a sanctuary, to sacrifices, or to a priestly ministry. The cast of characters includes the Lord God, a remnant of godly people in the nation, the psalmist, and the ungodly people who despised him, persecuted him, and wanted to destroy him. The psalmist referred to them as “the proud” or “the arrogant”. They were people who were born into the covenant but did not value the spiritual riches of that relationship. They hated the law and openly disobeyed it.
One of my favorite commentators, Warren Wiersbe, teaches an interesting thought, “Whether right or wrong, I have often thought that the prophet Jeremiah might have been the author of Psalm 119 and that he wrote it to teach and encourage his young disciples (v. 9) after the destruction of the temple. Many of the statements in the psalm could be applied to Jeremiah. He spoke with kings, five of them in fact, and bore reproach because he faithfully served the Lord. He was surrounded by critics and enemies who did not seek God’s law but wanted to get rid of the prophet. Jeremiah was definitely the prophet of God’s Word in the heart (Jer. 31:31-34), and this is an emphasis in Psalm 119.”The basic theme of Psalm 119 is the practical use of the Word of God in the life of the believer. When you consider that the writer probably did not have a complete Old Testament, let alone a complete Bible, this emphasis is both remarkable and important.
Christian believers today own complete Bibles, yet how many of them say that they love God’s Word and get up at night or early in the morning to read it and meditate on it. NOW, do you see the significance of God’s word to me in the middle of the night? I tremble and rejoice at the awakening God gave to me that night long ago, bringing me, heart, mind and soul, to draw near to Him! I haven’t stopped studying His Word since that moment in time.
You’re blessed indeed when you study God’s Word and actually live what it says for us to do. God helps us. When we misstep and see a path we are not meant to be on, God’s Holy Spirit pulls us back on course.
“Oh that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; then I’d never have any regrets…”Dear Heavenly Father,
We pray the prayer of the Psalmist today…”I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me.” I know you will answer this prayer because you have so many times before. Help me to be a great steward of the life you have given to me that I give back to you. May your glory be seen in me. Thank you for teaching this eager learning that night long ago and all the days of my life since that time. Thank you for Your Word that clearly tells us what to do and how to be. No regrets…just blessed!
In Jesus Name, Amen
I may have given up on wanting others to love me but because there is never a time when God does not love me I can carry on. He has proven His love to us over and over again. Jesus is proof. God came down to a hateful world in human form just to prove His relentless, limitless, unconditional love to us. He daily and actively showed what God’s love is on this earth before the cross, during the cross and after the cross. (Read John.)
1-4 Thank God because he’s good,
Far better to take refuge in God
17-20 I didn’t die. I lived!
HEART CHECK:
Stop and realize the depth of love God has for us. List the benefits of knowing God’s love. Take all the time you need for His Love to sink into your being…that He has created.
This prayer of praise is also talking about the “capstone” of our salvation, Jesus Christ. Jesus. THE Truth of God, Way to God and Life with God! How can the God of Creation love us this much? I don’t know but I am grateful He does! Aren’t you? 
With the creative music and talented musicians we have today, it’s not too hard to get up out of our seats to praise God when you go to a place where people are actively seeking and following God, loving God and loving each other! 
This is amazing grace
People pay a lot of money to get someone they trust to sit down, look them in the eyes and just listen to them. Knowing you are heard gives you an immediate sense of worth, value with a calm assurance that someone cares. It doesn’t matter how wronged you thing you are, how tough the circumstances seem to be, or how difficult that relationship is that you are trying to mend. If someone truly listens with understanding and love, wanting the best outcome for you, you can be healed, helped and lifted up from all kinds of debilitating depressions and anxieties.
Psalm 116, The Message
Death stared me in the face,
Oh, God, here I am, your servant,
“Where is my phone?” is no longer much of a question these days. Why? Because it is always attached to us in some way. Look at us, all of us, who march to the beat of the phone’s demands. We scroll, tap, watch other’s lives unfold and text our own cryptic messages with emoji’s that rival the hieroglyphics on cave walls of the past! And I am one of them.
What was meant to be security in trouble so that help could be summoned in an emergency has become somewhat of a god to many of us. How much time is spent with this attachment to our bodies that we cannot do without? Again, I am guilty. I am preaching to me.
1-2 Not for our sake, God, no, not for our sake,
3-8 Our God is in heaven
9-11 But you, Israel: put your trust in God!
You are probably reading this from your phone right now! That’s okay, just remember to trust God more than the phone. Use it for God’s glory. Use it as a tool to tell others about who God is and what He has done. I do. Daily!
How can we use our phones for God’s glory?
Dear Heavenly Father,
When an item you bought stops working, you want it fixed or you want a new one, right? First you go back to the place you purchased it. Then you find someone to help you. If that person cannot help you, you ask for their boss. If the boss of the first person can’t help you, you ask for the manager of the whole store. Now, you hope to get somewhere with a person who has the authority to bring a solution to your problem. Who you talk to makes all the difference in the world. By the way, getting angry does not help you or the person with no authority in front of you. Be kind and just go to the manager.
When I look back on my life, I wonder how much wasted time was spent talking to others about my problems who had no authority for solve them. Yes, it was good to have a listening ear but the problem did not get solved. The good feeling from being heard from others was only temporary. When I go straight to the problem solver, God, Himself, in Jesus Name, life is managed more efficiently. I must remember, however JUST WHO I’M TALKING TO! Because of Jesus, we can go right into God’s Holy Presence and be heard. Remember the holiness of God, not only as a Friend, but as GOD!
Think about just who we are talking to this morning…and bow down, worship, humbling ourselves before the God who loved us first. HE is God and we are not. Wow. Approach God with fear and awe. A fear that draws you to the One and Only God and causes you to be in awe of all He has done, is doing and will do in our lives until we see Him face to face in all His glory.
1-8 After Israel left Egypt,
Dear Heavenly Father,
There are mornings, in the middle of journaling my prayers to God that I just sit still for a while and really think about Who I’m talking to as I pray. Because of Jesus opening the door to heaven for us because of his work on the cross, we can walk right in and talk with the God who created us, loved us first, cares about us and wants HIS best for us. Hallelujah, indeed!
really get to know Me”. “Feel My Presence with you.” “Understand and know from the inside out how much I love you.” I hear all of these words and more when I just sit still.
He picks up the poor from out of the dirt,
What does it mean to be blessed? Does it mean that all is going well in our lives? Does it mean we are liked and loved by all? Does it mean generally that life is going well without any speed bumps along the way. Mm, I don’t think so. Being and feeling blessed might have a lot to do with the stage of our maturity and growth in following God and obeying His commandments.
1-10 Hallelujah!
God’s grace and mercy and justice!
Randy and I have been on our own, so to speak, without kids or my dad living in our home for quite awhile now. Because there are only two to cook for and eat, I have discovered that items begin to build in our fridge and cabinets. I have also discovered that I must look at expiration dates before using those products again. When precious time goes by quickly, especially when we are busy, we don’t realize that some products have expired. SO, my new habit is to look at the dates before using any product these days. And how long have I had this bread?
As I read our next prayer song of praise, I am especially grateful that God and His promises NEVER go out of date, never gives up on me, never becomes obsolete or goes out of style. He proves this over and over and over again. He proved His promises to me this morning…without me checking the expiration date…because there isn’t one!!
4-7 God gave his word and he won’t take it back:
HERE ARE SOME FACTS:
SO…David wasn’t just a shepherd boy who became God appointed leader of God’s people on earth for awhile, he was also God’s prophet who herald the coming of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord! Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus the One and Only who would pay the debt of our sin on a cruel cross. Jesus, Son of God, whose mission to seek and to save lost people, came to earth to help humanity come back to God, know God and worship Him as their first love once more. Jesus, perfect in every way, showed humanity how to treat each other with love and respect, telling us that the way we treat others is in direct proportion to the way we treat God. 
Dear Heavenly Father, 
