Psalm 119:33-40 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 119:33-40 on biblegateway.com
Verse 33Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end.
Verse 34Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
Verse 35Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.
Verse 36Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain.
Verse 37Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways.
Verse 38Confirm to your servant your promise, which is for those who fear you.
Verse 39Turn away the disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good.
Verse 40See, I have longed for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life.
Devotion
The psalmist doesn’t ask God for a script. The psalmist asks to be shown the way, to see the shape of God’s design, and for their own heart to be turned.
“Teach me… give me understanding… lead me… turn my heart… turn my eyes.” Each of these phrases is a request to be changed, not to be handed answers. Before this voice can speak a word to anyone else, it wants its own self to be reordered from the inside.
So, if we are to be sentinels of God’s call to repentance, it’s worth sitting with these words from the psalmist. It’s tempting to hear “speak the word you hear” and rush straight to speaking. But first, it is wise to ask God to shape what we’re even capable of hearing. Turn my heart from selfish gain. Turn my eyes from vanity. Then, maybe, I can truly discover the word God would have me speak.
Prayer
Lord, teach us your way before you send us to speak it. Amen.
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