My Last Prayer

“Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.” (Ps 143:8 AV)

 

The first phrase of the verse has several implications.  It could be the writer is seeking an extension of his life.  He wants to wake up in the morning and hear the lovingkindness of God.  Upon death, the Old Testament saint slept until such a time as the Savior would come and die for them.  Therefore, it is not uncommon to read of a psalmist's desire for longer life that he might use for the glory of God.  He knows that once he dies, he has no more opportunity to serve God among men until the resurrection makes it possible.  This verse is incredible.  Truly.  The writer’s single desire is to know the ways of God so that he might walk therein.  The lifting up of the soul is an expression of worship and the manifestation of that worship is the desire to walk in the ways of God.  This is all he wants.  He wants a longer life so that he might learn to walk in obedience.  What a prayer!

I have a son that is a perfectionist.  Almost to a fault.  I taught him when we homeschooled.  It was a bit difficult.  He would not allow for any mistakes or even a bit of interpretation.  He wanted to do it perfectly right or it didn’t count at all.  This trait is admirable.  As a parent who wants his child to do his best and knows that it may not be perfect, this can be frustrating.  Moving on to new skills didn’t come easy.  He refused until he got it perfectly right.  As you can imagine, there were skills he excelled in.  Memorization was one of them.  He worked hard and conquered anything put before him.  He almost completed all of the available AWANA requirements before he got too old to carry on.  When it comes to spelling, he is the champ.  Other skills did not come so easily.  Handwriting was one.  He has great handwriting, but not perfect.  Taking the time to practice all of the sheets in cursive took time.  There were more eraser marks than lead.  He worked and worked until he got it perfect.  Or, as perfect as he knew he could get it.  This tenacity paid off.  He isn’t a natural ‘A’ student.  In other words, he had to read, study, and internalize the information needed.  He didn’t get a few things without some hard work.  His two brothers, on the other hand, never studied and carried an A average.  My true student worked as hard as anyone for an A and in the end, his perfectionism was a great blessing.  It taught him that anything worth having was worth the hard work to attain it.  Even today, if you looked at his life, he works really, really hard.  God has given him a tough road to travel, but I cannot think of anyone more able to conquer the mountains set before him than this son of mine.  He wants to know the rule, the requirement, and the expectation, and do his absolute best.

This is the prayer of the psalmist above.  He hasn’t gotten where he knows God wants him to be.  He wants to accomplish all God has for him, especially obedience to His word.  It isn’t enough to do most of the word of God.  It isn’t acceptable to just pass.  He wants to know what it is like to be fully committed to the plan and will of God so that whenever God commands, he obeys.  His soul is lifted up.  He sacrifices all that he is for this deep desire.  His whole being is laid before the LORD that his will might be broken for the will of God.  This is his heartbeat.  We have many ambitions in life.  A nice house.  Promotions at the workplace.  The LORD’s work full-time.  Perhaps to win so many to Christ.  Tithe a substantial amount.  But how much do we want to simply live in complete obedience to His revealed word?  This is the prayer for the saint as he falls off to sleep.  Please, LORD, give me one more day that I might learn Your commands and obey them.