Today's Daily Bread
Two-Way Communication
Have you ever been stuck in a conversation with someone who talks
only about himself? To be polite, you strike up a dialogue by asking
questions. The other person proceeds to talk endlessly about himself,
and he never once asks you anything. It is all about that person—and
nothing about you.
Imagine what it must be like for our heavenly Father to listen to our
prayers during our devotional time. We may have read a portion of His
Word, but then in prayer we swiftly shift focus exclusively to our
needs. We ask for help in solving a problem, providing for a financial
need, or healing a physical ailment. But the passage we’ve just read
doesn’t even enter into our prayers. What God has just said to us goes
largely unacknowledged.
Apparently the writer of Psalm 119 did not have this perspective.
Instead, he sought God’s help in understanding the Word: “Open my eyes,”
he said, “that I may see wondrous things from Your law” (v.18). And as
he prayed he expressed how he treasured God’s Word, calling it his
“delight” (v.24).
Let’s develop a discipline of praying our response to the Word. It
just might transform our devotional time. Bible reading and prayer
should reflect a two-way communication.
Lord, I’ve just read Your Word to me in Psalm 119.
Give me a strong desire like the psalmist’s to keep Your
Word. Show me what I can do to make it my delight and
counselor. Open my eyes and heart to learn from You.
Give me a strong desire like the psalmist’s to keep Your
Word. Show me what I can do to make it my delight and
counselor. Open my eyes and heart to learn from You.
Listen to God’s Word then pray about what you’ve heard.
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