Prayer for Guidance

In the third stanza of Psalm 119 we move from the prayer for favor and illumination, he prays for guidance in verse 19, “I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me.” We are all sojourners, we are all pilgrims…none of us are home here on earth…we are just passing through.

The old song, On Jordan’s Stormy Banks, the first line says, “On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand and cast a wishful eye to Canaan’s fair and happy land, where my possession lie, I am bound for the promised land, I am bound for the promised land, O who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land.” Do we see ourselves at home here? Or do we see ourselves as citizens of Heaven? A sojourner isn’t home until he or she is in Heaven.

If we are sojourners—we need guidance and the One from whom we need it is the One who made us, called us, saved us, and knows all things…He knows the plans He has for us…we must seek Him in His Word to find the things He has planned for us since before the world began…that is where God’s favor is found…in His presence and in His Word!

He prays for favor, for illumination, for guidance, and now he expresses from his heart, “My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.” What consumes us? What fills our longings? The Psalmist is consumed with longing for God’s rules…for God’s Word, for God’s way. This means he is consumed with God and wants to please Him. Not some of the time, but all of the time.

This is Christianity! Jesus told us to “Seek first the Kingdom of God.” When we claim to be followers of Jesus and yet seek first the world what does that sayabout our claim? When we claim to be followers of Jesus and yet seek first our own desires, our own wants, and our own comfort…what does that say about our claim? To be a follower of Jesus is to be consumed with Him, to delight in Him, to want Him above everything else. The whole stream of desire is found here—consumed with longing for Him all of the time.

Please, let the writer speak to you…let him help you evaluate your own heart.

Why do you want favor? Is it so that you can be obedient?

What do you look for in the Word? Do you look for wondrous things? He will have to open your eyes to see it.

Do you see yourself as a sojourner on earth or do you feel at home here? A sojourner looks for guidance…do you?

Finally, what is it that you are consumed with…it is it God or the world?I love that the writer speaks in the midst of persecution…this isn’t pie in the sky religion…this is the heart of a man living with the struggles we face.