Tag Archives: Psalm 119
Prayer and Defining Success
How do you define success? In different parts of my life, I have measured success by attainment of goals or by consistency of effort. At this time in my life, I still run, but I measure success in frequency of … Continue reading
A Prayer that Helps Us Know What to Pray
The tenth prayer in Psalm 119 is a template for praying. Although these verses repeat themes from earlier in the psalm and foreshadow later passages, the psalmist prays in a way in verses 73-80 that suggests content for our prayers. … Continue reading
Prayer and What We Value after Affliction
The psalmist who prayed Psalm 119:65-72 offered a prayer of thanks for affliction he had suffered. Most of us pray that we may avoid difficulty. Why would someone thank God for allowing them to suffer? Part of the answer emerges … Continue reading
Prayer when Lying in the Dust
You, like I, may have experienced times when your world fell apart. How did you pray? At times, I found it hard to pray at all. I have learned that such times require prayer, that we talk to God when … Continue reading
Prayer of a Stranger
Travelers and immigrants seek accurate direction. In Psalm 119:17-24, the Psalmist confesses that he, a stranger, desires that God will reveal the wonders of his law. He contemplates the statutes of God’s word as carefully as a modern traveler might … Continue reading
How Shall the Young Secure Their Hearts?
How shall the young secure their hearts? Throughout my life I have sung lyrics by Isaac Watts that ask that question. Watts drew his inspiration from Psalm 119:9-16, the second division of that psalm’s 176 verse anthology of prayer. Concern … Continue reading
A Prayer, a Song, and a Memory in the Night
When life is darkest, what do we pray? When hope dims, what songs do we sing? When opponents taunt, on what memories do we rely? In his prayer to the Lord, the writer of Psalm 119 provides his answers to … Continue reading
A Prayer for Focus
The prayer of the first stanza or strophe of Psalm 119 begins with beatitudes that echo Psalm 1: “Blessed are those who way is blameless, who walk in the way of the LORD!” These blessings introduce us to the intense … Continue reading
Prayer for Spiritual Survival
Years ago, I lived in a steel-mill town. On the south side of the town was a large metal hill that we called Slag Mountain. It was the dumping site for impurities that had been discarded in the making … Continue reading