I am HIS own, I CAN call out to him

good morning

Wanted to do something for devotions this morning and can't put my hands on the book I'm reading, so.... I went to biblegateway and their verse of the day seemed good to me, so I took the whole Psalm as something I could read.

Psalm 143

1Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.

3For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
I have fled to you for refuge!
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!

11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.

A cry from the heart of a man (David) to God.
David so wants God to hear him.

• his plea for mercy
• his request for what I see as comfort from the enemies that press in against him
  
• his desire not to be judged poorly though all around him seem to not be living for God.

David is heart-sore, tired and appalled at his life and those around him.
He remembers how things used to be - all that God has done, the works of his hands.
And he is SO thirsty for the voice, the hand of God in his life.
God please answer me, quickly please is his heart cry.

David states so eloquently how it is GOD that he trusts in.

8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

He cries out to God for deliverance from his enemies, how it is God to whom he flees.
Not to anyone else folks...it's to God. Not to neighbouring countries, not to the help of an army, it is simply to God that he calls out to. Help me God. And in the midst of his cry for help he also says....God teach me your will, YOU are my God, I want to do what you want me to do. Let me be led by your Spirit.

He ends the psalm asking for his life to be preserved, that his soul be brought out of trouble, that his enemies be cut off...why? Because he is God's servant.

I had to think about that for a moment you know. This realization that like David I am a servant of God. I can cry out to God with all my heart. I can expect God to answer me BECAUSE I am one of his very own. Even as I ask for help I can also say God...continue to teach me, continue to help me know your very own will for my life.

Cool eh?