on July 20, 2011
Psalm 119:17-24 – Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands. Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes. Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.
The Psalmist recognizes that fulfillment in life comes from God’s goodness. It is His goodness and kindness that leads us to repentance and obedience. It is His goodness that opens our eyes to understanding and appreciating the amazing things recorded in His Word. It is God’s goodness that makes him aware that those who love and obey God are the aliens here on earth. God’s Kingdom has not yet fully come to earth. His will is not being done here as it is in heaven. So, in the midst of an adverse environment, he prays for the continual clarity of God’s counsel and commands for him to live by. So it should be with all God’s bondservants – a burning passion and constant longing for God’s truths.
The Psalmist also recognizes that God’s Word is useful for rebuke. Arrogance, belligerence, and an unrepentant attitude meet with God’s rebuke. Yet the servant of God will not sit in scorn and contempt of the arrogant, because God’s statutes lead him to a higher call. He realizes that they are still prisoners of deception. Even though they may be people in places of power and authority who conspire against him and make life miserable with their conflict of values and attitudes, he makes God’s Word, and not his foes, the focus of his attention. The counsel of the wicked has no attraction to him. He’s not interested in fitting in with their culture, for God’s Word is his greatest delight. God’s prescribed rule of conduct is his counsel. It contains everything he needs for life and godliness. The same is true for everyone who will find a home in the Word of God!
Thursday:
- Meet together with at least 1 or 2 other believers to enter the Throne Room of Grace.
- Join our 6:00pm Thursday night prayer team.
Friday:
- Give thanks for the gift of God’s Word and the counsel provided in His commands, His statutes, His decrees and His laws.
- Pray for the Good News families of the week: Jim & Dina Priester (A.J., Allison, Sammy), Paul & Karen Rose (Cora, Paulie, Shayne), Dennis & Sherry Smith.
Saturday:
- Pray for the arrogant, belligerent, unrepentant people in your life who are still prisoners of deception and sin.
Sunday:
- Pray that God will constantly provide clarity of truth and righteousness as we pilgrim through this spiritually barren land.
- Join in with our Sunday prayer services to pray for God’s presence and blessing.
Monday:
- Pray that we may not be distracted or influenced by the attitudes, philosophies and practices of those who are rebels to God in this world, but that we may stay focused on God’s precepts, commands, promises and purposes.
- Attend “In Touch” Prayer meeting at GNCC at 10:30am or join in prayer at that time.
Tuesday:
- Give thanks for God’s goodness that enables us to see the amazing and wonderful things in His Word. Pray that eyes that are blind to God’s goodness will be opened.
Wednesday:
- Pray that believers everywhere will take such delight in God’s Word that they will not neglect it for an instant.
Prayer Challenge: Pray that God will grant every believer: a passionate devotion to His Word, a humble recognition that we have much room for growth and improvement, His corrective discipline – that may be painful but produces good fruit, a steadfast courage and strength to endure the arrogance, hostility, ridicule and slander of those who disregard the beauty and authority of God’s Word.