Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 139:1-6
Ps 139:1-6
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. 5 You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
When we are doing something that we know we should not be doing, we don’t want anyone seeing us. The idea that God sees us no matter what we are doing, where we are or what time of day or night is a terrible thought if we know we are going against his will. However, the other side of this is that God knows what we are doing, our thoughts and our motives as well as what we are facing so we have his constant care and protection.
Jesus told his disciples that we are to pray even though the Father knows what we need before we ask. We don’t talk with God to inform him but rather, to show that we trust him and are relying on him to take care of us and our needs. When we pray to God for help it humbles us and bolsters our faith in the process of asking for our need. When we praise him and offer thanksgiving to him we bring to life in our hearts and our minds his greatness, his goodness, his love and his grace toward us. For these reasons (and many others) we are to be constant in prayer and pray without ceasing.
How many times have we tried to do something and it did not work out the way we intended? Have we ever said something that was taken in a way that we did not mean it? Our motive was good and our heart was right but it just did not turn out like we meant for it to happen. God knows. He knows our hearts and our motives for what we do. For sure, if our motive is bad, he knows that but he also knows when we mean to do the right thing for all the right reasons too.
So if our heart is right and we are seeking to serve God, this Psalm is a wonderful comfort and assurance for us but if we are seeking our own way, it is a very frightening passage. God is ever with us and helping us – this is wonderful!
O God, I thank you for knowing me and still caring about me. I thank you for wanting what is best for me in all things. Thank you for providing me with so many wonderful Christian friends who encourage me and help me in so many ways. Use me to help others. I ask a special prayer for those who have had recent surgeries, for those taking treatments and those who are struggling in so many ways. Be with those who are elderly and help me not forget them but rather to be an encouragement for them. I pray in the name of Jesus, my Lord.
Robert
