"Make me understand!"
April 30, 2020
Psalm 119.27 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
When meeting the many challenges in life, David prays a prayer that we need to pray over and over again: "Make me understand!" He asked to be able understand in both verses 12 and 18. We encounter things in life that we do not understand. The situation is not always the way we expected. Maybe our dreams were too big or unrealistic? Or maybe the challenges we face are part of the training to help us fulfill our dreams?
But David's prayer to understand is not so much about understanding why life is difficult. He prays to understand the path God is commanding. In this prayer, there is a desire to appreciate the deeper meaning of the Lord's command. What is God's intention with the precepts? What does our good and loving Father want with the command he gave us? This is what David is asking for, and that is what we need to ask for as well. That God will show us the good way of life that His commandment is about. God's intention is always that His word will help us to live good and meaningful lives - no matter what the external circumstances are.
When I read the Bible, I always do it in prayer. I ask for insight and revelation. I pray that God will speak to me, that the Word will hit me and motivate me to action. I ask God to show me what to do and how to live. I know that the Bible is not given to fill us with knowledge of various topics. In the Bible, I meet God and learn to know him. The Bible shows me the way of everyday life. God's Word gives me life. The word renews and refreshes me when I understand the path his command shows.
In addition to asking to be able to understand, he says something very interesting: "I want to meditate on your wonders." Could it be, that meditating on all the good God has done, will help us to understand the path his commandment shows us to go? I think so, because I have experienced this, many times. When I meditate on Bible stories about how God intervenes in the everyday life of the ordinary people, I understand more of his words. It is wonderful that God did not give us a book of systematic theology, or a thick law book like the Laws of Norway. He gave us a book that tells us about his wonderful deeds, all the way from creation to the present. These stories help us understand what he means by his precepts, the way of life they refer to.
Open my heart to understand your wise ways as I deeply meditate on your splendor and your wonderful deeds!
Text: Erling Thu (c)