A Prayer for Advent

For December, we are exploring why Advent matters and how it could help us honor Christ in our celebrations and re-capture the excitement and mystery of Christ's entrance into humanity.

We are focusing on different sections from Psalm 119 that might help us center our thoughts and guide us as we meditate on the truths of God's word and this wonderful season.

This weekend let's examine verses 33-40

Teach me your decrees, O Lord;
I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;
I will put them into practice with all my heart.
Make me walk along the path of your commands,
for that is where my happiness is found.
Give me an eagerness for your laws
rather than a love for money!
Turn my eyes from worthless things,
and give me life through your word.
Reassure me of your promise,
made to those who fear you.
Help me abandon my shameful ways;
for your regulations are good.
I long to obey your commandments!
Renew my life with your goodness.

Note the various ways the Psalmist talks about God's truth: decrees, instruction, commands, laws, word, promise, and regulations. What an incredible view of the value and importance of God's truth!

I want to highlight one verse - "Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found." (NLT)

Let's look at that same verse in a literal translation of the Hebrew, "Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it."(NASB)

Is the Psalmist implying a connection between following the commands of God and a potential byproduct - happiness? Let's invert that flow of thought and frame it as a question - is our delight, the things that bring us happiness, the truths of God's word?

Now let's stop here for a second and let our mind rest on the reality of what brings us delight - I am honestly thinking of my wife's chocolate chip cookies; that is pure delight! Think back over the week; what brought a smile to your face and a wind of refreshment to your heart? What were the things that caused you to laugh or feel a sense of happiness?

With integrity, could we say that our time in God's word this week was a source of delight?

If so, I think we can, from experience, join in the refrain from Psalm 119, that God's word somehow renews our life with goodness. That can serve us as a kind of prayer for this advent season as well. Lord, in your compassion, continue to grow my desire to know your word and live by its truth.

If interacting with God's word doesn't have a regular place in your week, and you wouldn't necessarily say that it is the source of your delight, let me close with a simple question and a concluding prayer to take with you this weekend. What if God desires to be your source of delight? That question can be the starting point of a very personal prayer to God: Lord, in your compassion, would you grant me the desire to know you more fully and to see in your word the grandeur of your heart towards me.

Praying with and for you this weekend and looking to God's word to shine a brilliant and transformative light in our hearts this weekend. I hope to see you on Sunday!

- Bradley