Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Psalm 122-123 and Psalm 126

Today you’re invited to memorise Psalm 126:5 (although it would be great to try to recite the whole of v.1-5 if you can). Verse 5 reads:

Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.

Commit it to memory and then meditate on it throughout the day, in light of Psalm 123:2

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
    as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he shows us his mercy.

Total dependence and trust, mingled with a readiness to respond immediately – this seems to be the spirit in which the author of Psalm 123 is lyrically encouraging his reader to look to the Lord for answers to our need of God’s mercy.

If we mix the metaphor of Psalm 126:5 with this, then we’d have to say that we can have absolute confidence that we will reap the joy of answered prayer if we will sow the seed of our prayers into the fertile soil of God’s Loving Lordship over us, mingled with the fertilizer of our total dependence on God’s mercy, and our complete trust in His goodness and wisdom.

But, in addition to that, we will also have to be willing to listen to God’s instruction. There will be something we need to do. There’s no use in a farmer praying for a harvest if he is not willing to go out and do the hard work of reaping the harvest when it’s ripe. There’s no use in us praying if we are not willing to listen to God’s instructions and then to obey them when the time comes for us to go out and receive the answer to our prayers. This is where faith is truly demonstrated. As the old line goes: “If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.” And when we do take those fledgling steps of obedience, we can rest assured that God is faithful to complete the good work He has begun.

Lord, help me to trust completely in Your unconditional love and mercy as I present my prayers before You today. Help me to keep my eyes fixed on You for Your guidance and Your timing. Most of all, please give me the courage and strength to respond obediently when You show me what part I have to play in reaping the answer to my prayers. Amen.