I have been spiritually beat up before. Whipped, worn out, tired, burned out, feeling defeated from sin, weighed down by the weight of ministry, fighting demonic forces and accusing spirits day and night, doubting my calling and doubting God’s word; all these things have been at work simultaneously in my soul.

Today’s prayer is a perfect prayer when faced with similar circumstances. “Confirm to Thy servant Thy promise….” When John the Baptist was imprisoned, unknowingly awaiting his eventually death by beheading, he entered into a period of depression, darkness and doubting. He sent some of his followers to Jesus and asked, “Are you the one that we have been waiting for… I am discouraged. I need some assurance. I need confirmation. I need a hug from God. Are you really the Messiah?”

Jesus sent word back to John saying, “The lame walk, the blind see, the dead are raised…” Jesus answered based on the miraculous works that He was doing. Jesus answered His cousin and gave him the confirmation that he needed to endure to the end.

Do you have a ‘promise’ or a ‘life verse’? Has the Lord given you a clear message or ‘word’ that acts as a ‘guiding force’ or ‘mandate’ for your life? If not, ask the Lord to graciously give you ‘a word’, a ‘promise’, and a clear sense of direction/ purpose for your life. Once you receive this ‘word’, or you claim a ‘life verse’, cling to it.

If you start to doubt or to deviate from the sense of purpose in your life, pray today’s verse, “Confirm to Thy servant Thy promise…” Just as the Lord gave this confirmation to John the Baptizer, He will give it to you also.

What a perfect prayer for us who live in a porn-saturated, sex crazed, fashion crazed, make-up crazed society. “TURN MY EYES FROM…” The cry of the Psalmist’s heart is for control of the eyes.

God hard-wired us to look… Prov 27:20 says, “Death and destruction are never satisfied, and NEVER SATISFIED are the eyes of man…” This is the truth to counter the insidious lie, “NO HARM in just looking…” Or, “It’s OK to look just once…” Or the lie, “If I just see it with my own eyes, then I will be satisfied…” NO, NO, NO, you won’t be satisfied. You will be left with thirsting for more.

This is why lust is so deceitful. Eph. 4:22 says, “Put off the old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through DECEITFUL LUSTS…” Lust says that you will be satisfied. Lust says that it IS OK to look. Lust says that there IS no harm as long as you don’t touch.

The plea, the prayer in today’s verse is universal. It is a cry to God for a miracle. It is asking God to override every natural tendency we have to look at vanities, worthless and unproductive things.

Then the Psalmist hits at the way to overcome addictions and all besetting sins. He prays, “…Give me LIFE in Thy ways…” Vanities lead to emptiness, impoverishments and ultimately death. “Sin when it is full grown brings forth death…” But God is the giver of LIFE. The Psalmist knows that if we desire something greater, something more worthwhile, more desirable than the object of our base desires, that we can and will discipline ourselves for the higher good.

Earlier the Psalmist prayed, “Make me understand the way of Thy precepts…” Today’s prayer is equally forceful. “TURN MY EYES…” O that God would control my eye muscles. O that God would control my heart. O that God would control my desires so that every part of my being would be wholly His ALL the time. Rom. 6 says, “Do NOT yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life and your MEMBERS to God as instruments of righteousness…”

The prayer here is for just ONE OFFENDING member of our body. Please join me in praying this, “TURN MY EYES from all things related to lust. Turn my eyes from all form of porn. Turn my eyes from the second glance and from lustful stares. Turn the eye of my heart away from all lustful fantasies. Turn the eye of my will away from all plots and plans to sin. O God, give me life in all Thy ways. Give me a heart that is blameless toward Thee that I may NOT be put to shame.”

Occupy Wall Street AND Occupy Monterey, Occupy Oakland, Occupy San Francisco and Los Angeles and Atlanta, etc. all presumably started as a protest against greed. It has since morphed into protests against lots of things with a seemingly incoherent and inconsistent message. But one of the themes through out has been the growing gap between rich and poor, the 1% and the rest. It has even grown into questioning the economic system that has made our country the greatest in modern history. Capitalism is under now attack and it continues to be questioned by the media, anarchists, Occupy protesters and others.

This week, several other major companies/ corporations announced the CEO pay of their top executives to be in excess of 50 MILLION dollars per year, some getting paid over 100 MILLION dollars per year. Meanwhile, most of their employees obviously receive nowhere near that. James 5:1 says, “Come now your rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.” Later on saying, ‘your laborers are crying out to me AGAINST you for robbery… money you have kept back by fraud, etc.” Is there any connection between today’s verse, Occupy Wall Street and James’ admonition to the rich?

I can’t help but wonder, how many of these CEO’s, etc, are believers and true followers of Jesus? How many have bought the lie that they ‘deserve’ millions of dollars while some in their companies may be struggling mightily financially? The temptation for all of us is ‘I need a little bit more…’. Or, ‘I deserve this…’ Even in the Christian realm, we have bands/ groups that charge $75,000+ and more for a 70-minute concert. I’ve seen major, big-named teachers come to speak at events and their main concerns are: “Did my T-shirts and books arrive” so that can gain some extra coin?”

Today’s verse strikes at the heart of all this. Thousands of years ago, a Psalmist prayed, “God, please make my heart more inclined to Thy Word than to my monetary gain. Help me to be heavenly minded than to be greedy. Help me to be generous than to be stingy. Help me to have a heart that is not drawn away from You by gold or silver, but a heart that trusts You to provide for me and my needs. Help me to be inclined toward You and not to the world.” Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters for he will hate the one and love the other… You cannot serve God and mammon.” He also said that the things that make a man unfruitful are ‘the cares of this world, the desire for other things and the deceitfulness of riches…’

For the record, I am FOR capitalism. I am against greed. I am FOR the purity of the gospel and very wary of the ‘cultural pull’ for ‘more’. I fight materialism and greed in my own heart and soul. It looks like the Psalmist was aware of it in his own heart thousands of years ago.

This is another marvelous, two-word prayer. “LEAD ME…” The Psalmist is crying out to God for guidance. There are two assumptions to this request. First is that the person praying it is willing to follow the leader. They are willing to summit to the Lordship of Christ. This is always problematic for us. Jesus said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and NOT do what I say.” He also said, “If any man’s will is to do my will, he will know whether my teaching is of the Father…” It is HARD to follow Jesus because the demands are total. Jesus wants ABSOLUTE submission, even to the point of self-denial, even to the point of death. Jesus knew what this type of submission to the Father’s entailed. He is asking his followers to pay the same cost of discipleship that He paid. Jesus said, “I did NOT come to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me…” If you are willing to pray this prayer, are you willing to respond in obedience when the Lord answers?

The second assumption in this prayer is that God is able and willing to lead. Psalms 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go. Be not like a horse or mule without understanding which must be curbed with bid and bridle else it will not keep with you…” Over and again the leadership of Jesus is displayed. As mentioned above, He said, “Follow me…” numerous times in the gospels.

Mat 4:19 FOLLOW ME and I will make you fishers of men.

Mat 8:22 But Jesus said to him, ” FOLLOW ME, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Mat 10:38 and he who does not take his cross and FOLLOW ME is not worthy of me.

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and FOLLOW ME.

Mat 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, FOLLOW ME.”

Jesus is a leader. Jesus has and will always be the leader. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is Master and Lord. When He took on human form, becoming fully man, He led a small group of men on an insurgent campaign to destroy the ‘prince of this world’ and his kingdom. He is still looking for followers today.

The Psalmist prayed, “Lead me in the path of Thy commandments…” This is a prayer that the Lord longs and delights to hear. If our hearts are right and our ‘wills’ fully surrendered, He will surely answer this prayer. His leadership and ability to lead is NOT the question. The real question is this: Are will willing to follow?

p.s. It has been a while since anyone has commented on these devotionals I am not sure if any comments are truly registering through the web site. If you have time, please make a comment through the web site. THANKS
or, if you prefer, please write to me directly: breehm@comcast.net

This is another simple, two word prayer request: “GIVE ME….” “GIVE ME….” There are at least two assumptions in this prayer. The first is that I have a need, lack or want and DO NOT have the resources to the meet this perceived need. The second is that the person you are asking possesses the lacking resources. The Psalmist recognizes that he is ignorant and mentally deficient. He is lacking the big picture, the ability to ‘connect the dots’, to comprehend the ‘cause/effect’ of life and spiritual truth. Hence, he prays, “GIVE ME understanding….”

Five other times in Psalms 119 he prays, “GIVE ME understanding….” Still, another 5 times he prays, ‘GIVE ME life…’ It is interesting to see the connection between understanding and life. It is also interesting the number of times that the Psalmist asks, and keeps on asking.

We pray like this because God is known to be a generous, GIVING God. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He GAVE his only begotten Son…” Jesus taught and commanded His disciples in Mat 7:7, “ASK and you will receive…” In John 16:24 He said, “Hitherto you have asked for nothing in my name, ASK and you shall receive…” James taught on prayer in 4:1-5 saying, “You have not because you ASK not and you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions….” Also, in James 1 he teaches, “If any man lacks wisdom let him ASK of God, who GIVES to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be GIVEN to him.”

The Psalmist in today’s verse is asking God for understanding ‘that I may keep Thy law and observe it with my whole heart’. What a wonderful prayer! He is verbalizing to God that the desire of his life is to ‘wholehearted keep God’s law’. Do you think God would answer this prayer? I do. The Scriptures teach in 2 Chron. 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show his might in behalf of those whose heart is blameless toward him…”

My current, primary ministry is to meet and disciple men who are students at both the Naval Postgraduate School and the Defense Language Institute. These men are ALL sharp, intellectually keen. Yet, for many of them at the language school, you either ‘have it’ or seemingly ‘don’t have it’. MOST of these men struggle in acquiring a language. After being in class for 8 hours a day, they are still expected to study another additional 2-3 hours/day. I exhort each of them to pray, “LORD, GIVE ME understanding that I can learn this language. You scrambled the languages at Babel, please unscramble the languages in my mind…” The basis of having them pray is that they have a need and God has the resources.

What do you need today? Wisdom? Strength? Understanding? Protection? Courage? Help? Material possessions? Deliverance? I invite you to pray like the Psalmist, “GIVE ME…” then fill in the blank. God is a giver. He invites us to ASK.

These two words, “TEACH ME” form a powerful prayer. It is a cry for help. It is an acknowledgement of dependence. It is the voice of humility saying, “I don’t know everything. I am ignorant. I am NOT omniscient. You know more than me. I come to you and humbly ask, TEACH ME…”

Eighteen times in the Psalms this one phrase is used. In Psa. 25:4,5 it is used twice: Make me to know thy ways, O LORD; TEACH ME thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and TEACH ME, for thou art the God of my salvation; for thee I wait all the day long.

Psa. 27:11 TEACH ME thy way, O LORD; and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

Psa. 51:6 in the great prayer of repentance after the great sin of David with Bathsheba, he prayed, “ Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being; therefore TEACH ME wisdom in my secret heart.

Psa. 86:11 TEACH ME thy way, O LORD, that I may walk in thy truth; unite my heart to fear thy name.

Eleven times in Psalms 119 the phrase ‘Teach Me’ is prayed. A week ago, I wrote of its most used expressions, “TEACH ME Thy statutes…”

But it is also used in 119:29 “Put false ways far from me and TEACH ME Thy law…”

In 119:66 The Psalmist prays, “TEACH ME good judgment and knowledge for I believe in Thy commandments.”

Psalms 119:108 says, “Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord, and TEACH ME thy ordinances…”

David and the other Psalmists used this expression and prayed this prayer often. TEACH ME: thy statutes, Thy law, Thy ordinances, Thy way, wisdom, good judgment and knowledge…

Father, TEACH ME to be teachable. Open my eyes and humble my heart to learn from You, from my teachers and from others. O Father, keep the hand and mindset of arrogance FAR from me and truly help me to be a disciple, a learner of Your Spirit.

The Psalmist prayed AGAINST being put to SHAME. He actually spoke of SHAME many times in this Psalm. Three times he prayed against it for himself, then he actually prays that God would put the godless to shame.

Thefreedictionary.com defines shame as: “A painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace.”

The very FIRST emotion displayed by Adam in the garden after the first sin was SHAME. “I was naked and ashamed, so I hid…” As sons and daughters of Adam, we have ALL felt and experienced SHAME because we have all sinned.

When the Psalmist prayed against shame, he is saying, “God, please don’t let me do wrong things. Help me to keep on the straight and narrow. Help me to obey all your commands, precepts, statues, ordinances and guidelines. I know that if I deviate, stray or wander from your way, I will be guilty before you and suffer SHAME. I don’t want to suffer dishonor and embarrassment. Please Father, keep me and preserve me that I may NOT suffer SHAME…”

Notice SHAME in Psalms 119:5,6 “O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping thy statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all thy commandments.” The Psalmist knew how to prevent SHAME. It was by steadfastly keeping God’s statutes.

Notice SHAME in Psalm 119:80 “May my heart be blameless in thy statutes, that I may not be put to shame!” A blameless heart would prevent SHAME.

Notice SHAME in Psalm 119:116 “Uphold me according to thy promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to SHAME in my hope!” He is pleading with God’s power and preserving grace to keep him from SHAME.

Notice his confidence in Psalms 119: 46,47 “I will also speak of thy testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to SHAME; for I find my delight in thy commandments, which I love.” Because of his love and delight in God’s commandments, he would NOT experience SHAME when he was before authorities, even Kings.

Notice how he prayed for vengeance against his enemies. He prayed that they would be SHAMED. Psalms 119:78 “Let the godless be put to shame, because they have subverted me with guile; as for me, I will meditate on thy precepts.”

I pray that your ‘way’ would be blameless. I pray that your heart would be pure, that you would cleave to His testimonies and that God would spare you from SHAME.

What a prayer request! The Psalmist is praying, “God, help me to not be a liar. Help me to not be a deceiver. Help me to not commit fraud. Help me to be truthful in all I say and do. Help me to be an honest man. Help me to not embellish stories of life. Help me to not tell ‘white lies’ or ‘social lies’. Help me to not exaggerate. Help me to not allow false impressions to exist. Help me to not knowingly let someone believe something about me that is NOT true. ‘Put FALSE WAYS FAR FROM ME…’”

This prayer alone is a worthy of volumes. How can I separate myself from basic human dishonestly and deceit? How can I become a Nathaniel, whom Jesus commended as ‘truly a man in whom is no guile? The answer to these questions start with a prayer like today’s verse. It starts with recognition of ‘the problem’, my human heart. Jesus said in Mat 15:16-20, “And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

The basic issue of dishonesty is no different that any other character flaw that we face with such as lust, anger, anxiety and the like. After recognition of the problem, and praying about the problem, the next step is inviting the Holy Spirit to change us. We pray, “Search me O God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts… see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the path everlasting”. I will pray, “Lord, EVERYTIME I am being false or dishonest, please reveal it to my spirit through your indwelling Spirit.” If you honestly pray this and desire this will all your heart, then standby. The Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, will be ‘all over that’. You will be reminded EVERY TIME there is a spirit of deception that creeps upon you, moving you to be a deceiver.

When the Spirit of Truth reveals sin, simply confess it. Purpose to only communicate truth. Ask Him for help to take the high and honest road. Make it your quest to be a ‘man without guile’. Make it your desire to be known as a man/ woman of integrity. Make it your goal to ‘let your yes be yes and your no mean no.’

O God, “Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me Thy law…”

A dear friend and mentor of my wife is dying of ovarian cancer. She has fought this disease bravely for 7 years. Now, her body is weak and she looks like she is starving. Dying is never a pretty scene.

When my wife heard the news, she immediately became teary and sad; more than sad, almost depressed. Her soul ‘melts away in sorrow’ and grief for the anticipated loss of her (our) friend. She apologized to me for her condition. I smiled and tried to comfort her with the Word of God. I told her, “You are a beautiful mess. You are fully human, in touch with your emotions. You are able to weep with those who weep…. No need to apologize. The Scriptures say, ‘There is a time to weep and a time to rejoice… Feel sad. Cry. Mourn…’”

Soul sorrow can come from many sources. Having an injustice done against you or against someone you love can cause ‘soul sorrow’. You may not even know the person directly but only ‘hear of’ the injustice. Several weeks ago, during a talk in sexual purity, one of the students at DLI came up to me and told me that his desire in life is to aid and rescue victims of the sex slave industry. He became so impassioned that he started shaking as he told me his ultimate life goal. He has experienced ‘soul sorrow’ on behalf of strangers who are being brutalized.

Where do we get the strength to carry on in the face of such sorrow? Strength comes from the Lord and through His word. God is the giver of soul strength. Psa 138:3 says, “On the day I called, Thou didst answer me. My strength of soul Thou didst increase.”

At the end of King David’s live, when Solomon was anointed King, David prayed in
1 Chron 29:11-13, “Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In thy hand are power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great and TO GIVE STRENGTH TO ALL. And now we thank thee, our God, and praise thy glorious name.”

A few verses earlier, a ‘soul cleaving to dust’ was mentioned. The solution for this soul was REVIVAL found in the Word of God. Now, ‘soul sorrow’ is mentioned. The solution for this state is also the Word of God. We need to be in the Word to be both revived and strengthened. Spend some time today reading, studying, memorizing or meditating on the Word of God. It will do your soul some good.

This is a BOLD prayer. Challenging God to “MAKE ME” has fearsome consequences. Here the Psalmist is showing extreme spiritual fortitude in praying, “MAKE ME understand the way of Thy precepts.”

David prayed similarly in Psa 25:4,5 “MAKE ME to know thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation; for thee I wait all the day long.”

When I hear this prayer, I think of military training and a ‘trainer’ forcing me to do something over and again until I ‘get it’. It may not ‘feel good’, and it may be accompanied with brutish cursing and unpleasant name calling, but the end state will help me to survive and thrive within the military context. Here the Psalmist is asking God to force him to ‘get it’, to ‘make me’ to understand.

Understanding something is MORE than just knowing the facts. It is seeing ‘how the dots’ connect. It is realizing the inherent ‘cause-effect’ of things. ‘Understanding’ is comprehending how it ‘all fits together’, how one part affects the other and the implications of missing one or more pieces. God’s precepts cover all of life. They speak of God’s character, man’s character, life in general, the wicked, Satan, heaven and hell. The prayer request is ‘force me to get it’. ‘Open my eyes, teach me, override the natural ‘stops’ that keep me from learning so that I can live successfully.

When God answers this request, the natural results will be “I will meditate on Thy wondrous works…” We will comprehend God and think on Him. We will become enamored with His splendor and majesty. He and His creation will awe us.

After Job’s trials, when God appeared to him, Job said in 42:5,6 “My ears had heard about you. But now my own eyes have seen you. So I hate myself. I’m really sorry for what I said about you. That’s why I’m sitting in dust and ashes.” Before this, Job had a lot of correct ‘facts’ about God. He had a lot of the ‘dots’. But after God revealed Himself to Job, then Job ‘understood’ and repented. It was a supernatural act of God to reveal Himself, to impart to Job understanding.

In the same way, we pray, seeking an encounter with the Living God. We ask, “Make me to understand Thy precepts,” reveal Yourself to me, open my eyes and heart to ‘get it’, that I would seek Your face always and walk in Your ways. If this is the desire of your heart, be bold and pray, “God, please MAKE ME understand Thy precepts…”