May 7 -Psalm 12-17 | Psalm 19-21

Good morning everyone,

In our reading we have come to the end of David’s life, but his words live on. There are 72 psalms that mention David as the author, over the next week and a half we are going to be reading through many of them. Most of David’s psalms, though, quite obviously from his heart and so full of passion, are not specific to any event, they could have been written at any time during his life. When reading through the Psalms you’ll find that some are filled with lavish, enthusiastic praise for God’s great goodness while others are a desperate plea for help and protection. The Psalms are a great way for us to pray when we are experiencing similar situations in our lives.

Today, I like the way Psalm 12 starts out, “Help, O Lord.” Short and to the point. I am a short and to the point kind of person and I am always amazed at how some people can go on and on in prayer. Sometimes I will listen to a person expound on a request and think, “Wow! That was amazing. How did they think of all the different ways to cover that request, and so clearly. I wish I could do that.”  While other times I will listen to someone pray and think, “What in the world are they saying?” as they throw a crazy amount of unrecognizable non-related words into an un-comprehendible, incomplete sentence. The absolute best news is, it doesn’t matter if I understand them, God knows the heart of the person praying and hears quite clearly all of our un-clarity’s. Besides we’v got a helper. Romans  8:26 tells us,  “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” The main thing is that we pray. 

I loved , loved, loved the walk down memory lane this morning as I pulled out my old NIV Bible to read today’s scripture. Though I do reference it from time to time, this Bible was put on a shelf and replaced with NKJV in 1999 when I started attending Calvary Chapel, so it was like visiting an old and cherished friend. I loved it. Many, quite a few in fact, of the verses are highlighted or underlined in various colors, all reflecting a moment in time when God used them to speak to me about one thing or another, several of them with dates listed by them, some decades old. Over and over again I read, “Thank you, Jesus.” And even today, still I am warmed by their power, the healing power, the comforting power, the loving power of our God through these verses.

I would encourage you to go through the Psalms slowly. Let the spirit with which David wrote them wash over you. Feel his pain with him, rejoice in victory with him, thank and praise our amazing God with him. Close your eyes to see it all, I promise, you will be astounded at how blessed you will be if you will but let the Spirit wash over you and take control of your mind’s eye. See and feel the love of God which has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Such a precious gift. Amen?

Have a great day to God be the glory.

God bless you all …