Psalm 90:12-17 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 90:12-17 on biblegateway.com
Verse 12So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.
Verse 13Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
Verse 14Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Verse 15Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.
Verse 16Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
Verse 17Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands- O prosper the work of our hands!
Devotion
I just needed a break. It had been a really long day of driving and touring and making decisions for the youth group. Nothing bad had happened. In fact it had been a good day with a carload of teenagers. But I just needed a break. So I did something I almost never do. I asked them if we could change plans. And we all got a chance to play and walk along the shores of Lake Erie.
Is this psalm's plea that our days be glad and our work prosper mere wishful thinking? A hope for the day? A prayer? There is power in naming our needs—to God, to others, to ourselves. We do not always get the response that we want, but when we can put those needs into words, things become clearer for us.
Prayer
Satisfy us, Lord. Make us glad. Let your favor rest upon us. And prosper the work of our hands. These are the things we ask for today. These are the desires of our hearts. Amen.