Forty Days in the Psalmsনমুনা

Today, we will talk about Celebrating, which is a great way to conclude our forty days together. This is a major theme of Psalm 40—Celebrating what God has done for us and Celebrating through prayer.

During these forty days, we've discussed many important topics like hard times, praying for enemies, confession, and repentance. These are indispensable steps, and without them, we can't truly reach Celebration. We've walked through those valleys in Psalms, and now we're going to celebrate by showing how prayer can be a Celebration of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

Keeping our eyes focused on Jesus, Psalm 40 can become a significant part of our routine prayer life. Whether it's once a month or so, we can pray through this Psalm as a way of Celebration, confession, and asking for God's Help while recognizing what He's done for us.

To zero in, let's look at the first three verses as an example. It says, "I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."

That's you. If you are a Jesus-follower, because of His Death and Resurrection and God's Faithfulness, others will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

Now for your prayer life and mine, what may be helpful about this Psalm is to ask ourselves how many times we recount this story with God in prayer. Not enough. So many of our prayers are consumed with asking for things that cause panic and worry. It's not wrong to give God all those things. We should give God everything, but how many times have you sat and simply recounted to the Lord what He's done in your life? Then these things you're worried about turn into a song of praise. A song of praise to God that has this result: "Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."

RESPOND IN PRAYER:

Lord, I have made You my trust. No matter what stands against me today, help me to see that I'm blessed. I will walk with You today, not by what my eyes see, but I walk by faith.

And even if I'm not feeling it right now, and my emotions are what they are, I have put my trust in You. Help me not to take wisdom and advice from people who don't fear God. O Lord, Great are Your Wondrous Deeds and Your Thoughts towards us. Who can compare with You? I will proclaim and celebrate them, yet they are more than can be counted.