Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 119:9-16
Psalms 119:9-16
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
When the Psalmist says he has hidden the word of God in his heart, he is not saying it is somewhere in there so that no one will be able to see it. He is saying that he has spent much time in studying the word and now it is deep within him and secure in his mind. This happened because he had determined to study and know the word. He wanted to live for God and realized he must know the word to be able to do this so he spent time in study and meditation.
His attitude was to learn from God – not tell God how he wanted to live. He did not study just for the academics of it but with a desire to become more like God and to live a life of purity. He had an open heart and mind to learn what pleased God and what did not. He knew that God is God and he was just a small part of his creation here on earth.
If we are to live for God we must have the same attitude and put forth the same effort to study and to know the will of God. It is very possible to know a lot of facts from the Bible without really knowing what it is saying or how to apply it in our lives. On the other hand, it is possible to try to make application without having knowledge of the facts but this is impossible to do.
Our quest starts with an attitude of respect for the authority of God. We then open our minds as children seeking to learn and let God lead us as we study his word. This requires meditation – spending time to think about what we have studied and to apply it. It requires praying for wisdom because without the help of the Spirit we will never figure it out for ourselves. It then requires self-control to actually practice what we have learned and how to use it.
O Lord God, I thank you for revealing your will to me in your word. Give me a respect for your word and a desire to know it. Give me wisdom to understand how to apply it and self-control to do so. Help me grow spiritually every day so I don’t drift away from you. Forgive me when I fail. Lord, I ask you to be with those who are sick, those who are hurting and those taking treatments to give them healing and peace in Jesus. Use me to help them. Give your strength and peace to those serving you in difficult circumstances. I pray in the name of Jesus.
--Robert
