Hear my voice

PSALM 119:145–160

OUR study passage is taken from the longest chapter in the whole Bible. Still, I would recommend starting this study by reading the entire psalm. Also, read it slowly. Notice what is on the heart of the psalmist. Hear his voice. Pause and think. Listen to your own heart and, as the psalm draws you in, recognise your own responses.

Pause And Reflect

To what extent does reading the Bible attract you?

How do you feed your soul from it?

The Psalms are poetic writings. They have rhymes of thought rather than of words. Psalm 119 is a special work of art, where the text is divided into sections, each starting with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. These verses are songs of prayer and praise. They express the language of the soul, which is richer than words. Therefore, they have a timeless attraction for God’s people.

In my initial encounter with this text, I interpreted it as an expression of despair – ‘hear my voice’ (v149), ‘look on my suffering and deliver me’ (v153), ‘many are the foes who persecute me’ (v157). By reading the whole hymn, however, I understand its unknown author better. I realise that his theme is not hopelessness, but unwavering trust in the Lord.

By reminding himself about God’s protective law, his covenantal promises and his faithful ways with his people, the psalmist sustains his faith. His way of approaching God is not escapism from the raw reality of life. His enemies are real, and their threats against God’s people are dreadful. Yet he is convinced that God has not forgotten to be God and states: ‘I have put my hope in your word’ (v147), ‘you are near, Lord’ (v151), ‘all your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal’ (v160).

Pause And Reflect

How might you identify with these prayers?

What informs your prayers?

When praying for help, the psalmist presents himself as a true and faithful worshipper of God: ‘I have not forgotten your Law’ (v153). He promises to keep the Lord’s statutes (v146). He also has a word to say about those who don’t: ‘Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees’ (v155). This looks like bargaining with God. Is the psalmist praying only to achieve his selfprotective favours with the Lord? In fairness, don’t we all pray and worship with mixed motives? We all tend to use prayer as a means to an end. God must be hearing a lot of voices that are out of harmony with his own.

Also, the psalmist sees answers to prayers as conditional and selective. He believes that God will remain faithful to his word and act according to his laws and not to human premises. That view may clash with our understanding of God as one who would embrace all humankind in his mercy. We have an expectation of our Father in Heaven to be compassionately attentive to all the voices that cry out their human desperation, don’t we?

We are not God, and he doesn’t need our advice presented as prayers. We can simply trust him to deal with the desperate cries from those who know him, and those who don’t, because there is salvation in calling on his name. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes: ‘The same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”’ (10:12 and 13). Can we think of a better condition for reaching God than this?

Pause And Reflect

How has God answered your anxious prayers?

What else might the Lord want to do for you?

Prayer to God is so much more than a means to an end. For the psalmist it is not about any better outcome than knowing God. His praying is relational. He knows his Lord, and the Lord knows him and so the communication between them can flow freely. God has more to do in the life of the psalmist, and the psalmist longs to worship the Lord for ever. Prayer is the catalyst.

Psalm 119 lifts prayer and praises to a level where deep satisfaction in God becomes a reality. Rather than turning away from God’s statutes, the psalmist testifies to the fact that he is being drawn towards them. He bursts into praises over them. He discovers the blessing of obedient response. His faith matures by it, so he can hold on to God’s promises.

The psalmist might teach us a lesson here that would be about seeking to go deeper into God’s word. A Bible verse on an app might be fine on a good day, but not sufficient to sustain us in the long run. Like the psalmist, we too need to be assured of our salvation in the Lord. It is only those who live by God’s word who can give glad and confident witness about their Lord and Saviour.

If the psalmist faced enemies in his days, God’s people today will certainly also face their tribulations. The psalmist shows us that our best hopes are in God himself. To know the Lord means to love and obey his commandments and be confident in his care. So, the ‘hear my voice’ prayer is God’s cry to us as much as it is our cry to him.

Pause And Reflect

What have you heard from God through this study?

What will your response to him be?

Prayer Matters contains daily devotions covering specific areas in the territory, current worldwide situations and personal reflection and relationship with God. A PDF of the unedited booklet is available to download from salvationist.org.uk/resources

Life Together Focus

by Major Peter Mylechreest (THQ Chaplain)

SATURDAY 6 MAY

Lord, please give a sense of identity and dignity to those who feel that they have neither and those with low self-esteem. Provide a refuge to those who feel threatened by the anonymity of urban living. Help us to create places of belonging where people know they are welcome, remembered by name and valued as individuals. Amen.

SUNDAY 7 MAY

Lord, we pray for those throughout our territory in so many different positions of leadership, whether it be in corps, centres or headquarters. Strengthen them today in their faith. Give them wisdom for the decisions they have to make. We also ask that people of all ages be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading to offer themselves as officers, envoys, pioneers and as local leaders. Hear our prayer, Lord. Amen.

Humility Focus

by Major Jill Miller (Prayer Network)

MONDAY 8 MAY – 1 PETER 5:6 AND 7

Father God, I bow in worship at your feet, acknowledging your glory and power. I lay my burdens down, trusting in your unfailing love and mercy. Amen.

TUESDAY 9 MAY – COLOSSIANS 3:12

Loving Saviour, I want to be like you, and I pray you would clothe me with your compassionate heart, gentleness of spirit and selfless humility. Amen.

WEDNESDAY 10 MAY – 2 CHRONICLES 7:14

O Lord, we plead your forgiveness for the things we have done that are not pleasing to you. Hear our cries of repentance and heal our troubled minds and hearts. Amen.

THURSDAY 11 MAY – MATTHEW 23:12

Jesus, after you went to the cross for our sins and humbled yourself to the indignity of crucifixion, you were exalted to the highest place and are now in your glorious Kingdom. Give us grace not to think of ourselves above others but to serve humbly as you did. Amen.

FRIDAY 12 MAY – MICAH 6:8

Dear God, bless me with the desire to be just and merciful to all people and then to walk humbly in a loving and faithful relationship with you. Amen.

Prayer Requests

Do you have something or someone you’d like us to pray for? Email salvationist@salvationarmy.org.uk with ‘prayer request’ in the subject line and the Territorial Prayer Network will uphold them in prayer.