SEPTEMBER 16, 2014
A
Heart For Prayer
Read: Psalm
27:7-14
When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, Lord,
I will seek.” —Psalm
27:8
While traveling on an
airplane with her 4- and 2-year-old daughters, a young mom worked at keeping
them busy so they wouldn’t disturb others. When the pilot’s voice came over the
intercom for an announcement, Catherine, the younger girl, paused from her
activities and put her head down. When the pilot finished, she whispered,
“Amen.” Perhaps because there had been a recent natural disaster, she thought
the pilot was praying.
Like that little girl,
I want a heart that turns my thoughts toward prayer quickly. I think it would
be fair to say that the psalmist David had that kind of heart. We get hints of
that in Psalm 27 as he speaks of facing difficult foes (v.2). He said, “Your
face, Lord, I will seek” (v.8). Some say that David was remembering the time he
was fleeing from Saul (1 Sam. 21:10) or from his son Absalom (2 Sam. 15:13-14)
when he wrote this psalm. Prayer and dependence on God were in the forefront of
David’s thinking, and he found Him to be his sanctuary (Ps. 27:4-5).
We need a sanctuary as
well. Perhaps reading or praying this psalm and others could help us to develop
that closeness to our Father-God. As God becomes our sanctuary, we’ll more
readily turn our hearts toward Him in prayer.
Teach me, Father, what
it means to run to
and have You as my
sanctuary. Help me not to
worry about the words
I say, but just to express my
heart to You and to
nestle down close to You.
In
prayer, God can still our hearts and quiet our minds.
Insight
Many of the psalms are
prayers to God, and many are songs to encourage others concerning the goodness
and love of God. Today's psalm contains both elements. While David cries out to
God for guidance and protection in verses 7-13, he ends his psalm with a
message to the reader (v.14). Taking the lessons and thoughts expressed in his
prayer, David encourages the reader to trust the Lord and wait upon Him as he
has done.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
