Written ~ 12-05-2023
Psalm 86:11-13
11 “Teach me Your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to Your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor You.
12 With all my heart I will praise You, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to Your name forever,
13 for Your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death.”
I don’t know about you, but when I sit down in front of my Bible I have a sense of excitement to see what the Lord is going to lay on my heart. My thoughts begin to wrap around the thought that God loves me so much that He placed all these words in a book, compiled them in such a way so I can learn from every page all the knowledge and wisdom that I will ever need to walk through this life. Throughout the day the voices of King David and the Apostle Paul tutors me as I venture out into the world. We have such a wonderful tool at our fingertips to help guide us, the instructions, the encouragement found within the covers of the Bible should be our lifeline, the first resource we go to in every situation.
So when I read a verse like Psalm 86:11, it becomes a prayer of my heart…
11 “Teach me Your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to Your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor You.”
When you sit with God’s Word, what is the posture of your heart and mind? Has it ever become a chore, that when reading through the Scriptures it has become meaningless, just a habit that no longer brings joy? Each day when I open the Scriptures, I don’t ever want to come to this holy place with blind eyes and deaf ears. No! I want to exclaim what David is praying!
“Teach me Your ways, O Lord!!!”
My heart is yearning for the instructions found in this Book! Just knowing that the Scriptures I read will help me live my life according to the Truth, well, it inspires me to continue reading, to continue studying and to continue learning. I want my heart, my thoughts, my actions to be pure, I want to Honor the Lord in everything I do and the only way I will achieve that is by becoming a devoted student of the Lord.
As you read through the Bible, really ponder the words you’ve read, have you ever spontaneously shouted out “Praise God! That was so Awesome! Thank You Lord” I have! Many times! Because something I’ve just read has touched my heart in such a way that I can’t help but shout out my praises to my Savior Jesus Christ!
Psalm 86:12-13a
12 “With all my heart I will praise You, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to Your name forever,
13a for Your love for me is very great.”
When the Lord shows you His love through the words in the Bible, when you can feel the glory, when you can almost touch the power exuding from its pages, it’s time to praise the Lord with all your heart! God has given us lifesaving Truth in His Words! We read not too long ago from Hebrews 4:12 that the “Word of God is Alive and Powerful” so when we ask the Lord to teach us through His Word, it will happen! That’s a promise!
One of the promises written about in the Bible is that when Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again, He forever broke the chains of death. So we can rejoice when we read the last part of Psalm 86:13,
13b “You have rescued me from the depths of death.”
Our acceptance, our faith, the belief in who Christ Jesus is, rescues us from an eternity of torment and death. That’s a promise we should be praising God about every moment of our day! How do we do that? By our actions! We should be giving glory and honor to the Lord because He has brought Salvation to each one of us!
When we ask the Lord to teach us from His Word, are we willing to really listen to what He is instructing us to do? Look at what it says in Psalm 85:8-9,
8 “I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
for He speaks peace to His faithful people.
But let them not return to their foolish ways.
9 Surely His Salvation is near to those who fear Him,
so our land will be filled with His glory.”
We carefully listen to the Word of God so we won’t “return to our foolish ways.” If we decide not to follow the teachings of the Lord Jesus, we risk falling back into our sinful actions and the Lord’s Glory that should be shining in our lives, begins to fade. But the Lord is near… as soon as we look to Him for guidance, He responds with His Salvation.
The next time you sit down with your open Bible, ask the Lord to teach you. Praise Him for all He has done in your life and be ready for the Holy Spirit to touch you in a way that brings hope and healing to whatever you are going through.
God loves us so much and we should be shouting His Praise!
Father, my prayer is the same as David’s, teach me, purify me, rescue me. Help me learn through Your Word so I might live according to the Truth found within its pages. When I see and feel Your Glory, Your Power in my life, prompt my heart to burst out in praise to Your Glorious Name! I love You Lord, thank you for rescuing me.
~AMEN~