Have you ever noticed that what comes out of our mouths determines the looks we carry and get. Negative people tend to look negative, positive people look generally happy, and so on you get the idea. We tend to look at the life of David and focus on he was a man after the heart of God, but have you ever stopped to think about what that may have looked like? Psalms 119:169-176 I believe offers a glimpse and instructions on how we as believers in 2019 become that person.
First verses 169-170 tells us that David asks for understanding and deliverance ACCORDING TO GOD'S WORD. He isn't asking through a formula, or name it claim it, he simply focuses on the promises of God and asks according to them. James 4:3 says "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.(NASB)" We ask according to what we want not what God wants for our lives. Asking according to the revealed will of God according to His Word will always have us praying in line with Him and in that we can never go wrong.
Secondly, David doesn't just pray God's word he sings it. Verses 171-172, David asks to let his lips utter praise and his tongue to sing God's Word. A lot of songs we sing in church as nice and even fun, but not all of them are based on scripture. Some are so neutral they can be sung at Karaoke night and many would never realize they are Christian songs. If we use God's word as our source material for worship, I feel we will always find ourselves standing in His presence. I don't want my worship to trigger a simple visitation of God but a true MANIFESTATION of His presence and power, for that is the only thing that will truly help and change me, and bring others to Him.
In verse 175 David asks for life for his soul so he can live a life praising God! You may be like me, how do we do that, and he gives us the key in the second part of the verse, he asks God to teach him how. Jesus told us the Holy Spirit would be our teacher, and He is, our problem is we don't really want to learn. He is always talking to us, we generally don't listen because we have allowed to many distractions to enter into our lives.
So today look for ways to just live God's word, sing it, pray it and then listen. You might be surprised and what you hear. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the mighty and wonderful name of Jesus.
Shalom!
