Psalm 145

Continuing to focus this devotional blog on “Pre-written prayers” (if this is a new concept for you, you may want to read this blog first: http://chdevotions.blogspot.com/2008/06/book-of-perhaps-not-so-common-prayer.html ). I turn now to the collection of prepared prayers in the Cannon: the book of Psalms.

For thousands of years God’s children have used the Psalms to sing or pray without music to the Lord. The Psalms can be used corporately or alone. There are Psalms of praise, lament and thanksgiving to name a few. When I pray through a Psalm I generally read it through first and then pray it to God slowly one or two times. I chose Psalm 145. Please pray through it yourself and reflect on what the Holy Spirit focuses you on before going on to my thoughts below.

A psalm of praise. Of David.

1 I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation will commend your works to another;

they will tell of your mighty acts.
5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works,

and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all;

he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;

your saints will extol you.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might,
12 So that all men may know of your mighty acts

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures through all generations.

The LORD is faithful to all his promises

and loving toward all he has made.
14 The LORD upholds all those who fall

and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and loving toward all he has made.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.

Let every creature praise his holy name

for ever and ever.

The first line that really grabbed me as I prayed it was verse 4: “One generation will commend your works to another”. It made me think of how I learned most of the Bible stories from my parents and how I am beginning to teach them to my children. I was feeling pretty good about myself but the psalm goes on to use terms like speak, extol and tell. As I prayed these lines I was convicted about how little I talk about God to others (except when I am preaching or teaching). Yet, I talk about my family all the time. You can’t meet me and talk to me for more then 10 minutes without me referencing my wife or children. In fact I feel that if you don’t know my family or at least know about them you don’t really know me. Why do I not speak about God in the same way? Isn’t He the “person” I am closest too? Can anyone really know me without knowing Him or at least about my relationship with Him?

I am not talking about running into someone and saying “Hey Fred, new car eh? I like that it’s red. It reminds me of Christ’s blood shed for my sins.” But shouldn’t we be praising God for the prayers he has answered in our lives? Shouldn’t we mention Him when we talk about our difficulties? Of course we all do in one way or another but praying through this Psalm has challenged me to do it more often.

Within 10 minutes of meeting me you will know about my family. Within an hour you will likely know my favorite football team and that I like coffee. With in a few hours you will likely know the movies, books, music and/or TV shows I like. How long can you know me before I mention God’s power in my life? What does that say about my priorities? I will wrestle through these questions and let you do the same.

Mark Wallace