Psalms – Prayers of Honesty and Praise
We can daily look at our lives and only see a small part of a much larger picture. There is a danger in that if we dwell too long. We find ourselves caught up in the moment, focusing on things that will not be of any importance in a few days, months or years. Our heads are turned easily from the bigger picture of what God has designed for our lives.
The writer of Psalms 119 is looking for the bigger picture of life with God as His Master and wants to learn all God has to teach him about living a life of obedience. TEACH ME is the theme of our next portion of this wonderful prayer for wisdom, insight and understanding for seeing life enlarged.
Psalm 119, The Message
Part Five
33-40 God, teach me lessons for living
so I can stay the course.
Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—my whole life one long, obedient response.
Guide me down the road of your commandments;
I love traveling this freeway!
Give me a bent for your words of wisdom,
and not for piling up loot.
Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way.
Affirm your promises to me—
promises made to all who fear you.
Deflect the harsh words of my critics—
but what you say is always so good.
See how hungry I am for your counsel;
preserve my life through your righteous ways!
FROM THE HEART…
Look at all the directives the writer is asking of God; Teach me, Give me insight, Guide me, Give me wisdom, Divert my eyes, Invigorate me, Affirm your promises, Deflect what others say, and finally, SEE how much I want You, Lord.
Wow! What if we prayed similar words daily?
How would it affect our lives?
The writer previously asked God to open his eyes to see more and understand more. We can pray for God to take off the blinders that hinder our understanding and even our relationships so we can focus on God, so we may obey and follow God where God leads, and enjoy the trip more readily.
Do we pray, asking God to open our eyes to the bigger picture of Who He is with what He has waiting for us to see and understand?
How can we pray for wisdom (skills for living)?
What words can we use?
Do we pray for God’s wisdom and insight just to get us out of our present trouble? OR do we ask God to teach us skills of wisdom that might keep us out of trouble in the first place? Mm, just a thought. Maybe THAT is the bigger picture?
LET’S GO A BIT DEEPER…
Grand opportunities are missed if we refuse to think and behave like Jesus taught, looking to God for all HE thinks and wants for our lives. Here are but a few examples of what Jesus said and how HE lived, ALWAYS focused on the bigger picture:
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:38
“I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 5:30
“So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” John 5:19
Aren’t we glad JESUS focused on the bigger picture or mission of life eternal for all who believed in Him?
Yes, there is so much more to learn…at every age and stage of life here. There’s more to following in God’s ways and it has a lot to do with seeking, finding and following Jesus who is also God.
HEART CHECK:
God says it all depends on our hearts. Where are our hearts? Hearts repentant and humbled, ready to receive all that God has for them are invigorated hearts that are “bent for His words of wisdom.”
Is my heart bent toward God and am I teachable?
What is your heart focus, where is your mind wandering and how full is your soul…on the small things of this monetary life or on the bigger picture of life with God forever?
Need help? The Holy Spirit, also part of God, is waiting to guide us to think higher, greater, with more insight and understand. Ask, seek and you will find, says Jesus. I believe Him for I have asked and have received his help many times. I will keep asking for there are many things in this world that I just don’t understand. The Holy Spirit guides me back to the bigger picture every time. The key is to stop, be still, let go and listen.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Hallowed be Your Name. May Your Kingdom come and reign in my heart. May Your will be done on earth in every detail in my life as it is in heaven. Open my eyes to watch You at work and praise You for it. Invigorate my heart as you teach me Your ways and help me to see the bigger picture of life as You see it. Keep me focused, flexible, and determined to live life on your terms. I am hungry for your counsel. I’m yours. I’m listening. Teach me.
In Jesus Name, Amen
middle of the lake, you must take action! But how? IT could be anything from troubled relationships to illness to financial troubles with unexpected expenses not in the budget or a combination of all these life storms. IT could be betrayal, injustice and humiliation through abuse. IT could be an addiction you are trying to overcome. 
Barricade the road that goes Nowhere;
Thank God right now for all He has done, is doing and will do. Sometimes we forget all the past troubles that God helped us through. Remembering, (not dwelling on the pain but on the praise of God), our confidence is renewed for now and for whatever lies ahead.
And those who think they know so much,
As believers, we ARE strangers in a world where many live their lives with only a view of self, self protection, self gratification, selfishness, wanting to do life all by themselves. Do you feel like a stranger at times? Or have you given in this way of thinking?
Dear Heavenly Father, 
When you plan a trip to go to a very exciting place for vacation, to visit family, for a new job, or just to take a drive, you plan. You plan what will be needed for the trip. You plan how to pack all those things into suitcases and backpacks. Then you plan how you are going to get all those bags of stuff into the vehicle. 
Psalm 119, The Message
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
So, where are you going? How will you get there? Who will you follow? 
Psalm 119, The Message
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
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. 
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.”
“Oh that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; then I’d never have any regrets…”
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,
