Going Deeper

This going deeper section is all about bringing our Bible Reading and Prayer time together, learning to build on our devotional times.

Ever hid in a cave, whilst on the run from a demented, murderous King, and been frightened for your life? Thought not! King David did, and he wrote Psalm 57 about it later.

Like David, when you need to get close to God and seek His guidance and protection, one of the best things you can do is read His word back to Him. Why? Because it shows God that you are totally dependant on Him; acknowledging that He is the all powerful, loving, kind God, and that you need Him in the driving seat of your life. It doesn’t have to be during desperate times either. When you want to simply praise God for who He is, then there’s loads of worshipful Psalms around this. For example, Psalm 100 would be a brilliant way of getting into the presence of God, whilst sitting on your bed strumming a guitar - or even a great way of starting off a worship band rehearsal with your mates.

The Psalms are a real treasure chest of devotional material. One of the reasons that reading [or even singing] God’s word back to Him is so important, is that it shifts the focus off of us and brings God’s heart for the world to the top of our agenda. Let’s look at an example. Psalm 113 is a wonderful example of the kind of God we worship:

Praise the Lord! Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever.
Everywhere—from east to west—praise the name of the Lord.
For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens.
Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high?
He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth.
He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people!
He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother.

Praise the Lord!

Basically, Psalm 113 is saying something along these lines:

God is awesome, and every servant of God should worship Him with praise. The Lord is King over the universe and everything in creation is held together by His authority. As well as being King, God is concerned with the lives of everything He has created. He looks down on our world and is moved by what He sees. He doesn’t just watch; He gets involved. He’s a God of social justice, lifting the poor from the rubbish dump and making them princes in His Kingdom. He cares about the real problems of our lives, such as when a woman can’t have a baby. God cares for her, and provides her with a family, making her so utterly happy! God is amazing!

When you start praying these words back to God, you might start to get a heart like His for issues of poverty around the world, or in your own town. You might start to identify with some of the pain in your own family life; an aunty who can’t have her own family, or an Uncle who has lost his job and can’t afford to provide for his family. It is here, in this place of awareness, that you can begin to focus your prayers more, and also move your personal prayer requests a rung or too down the importance ladder. It’s not that your prayer needs are any less important to God, it’s just that by focusing on God’s heart first, you start to become more like Him, and begin to grow a character that is aware of other people; one that is selfless, loving and considerate.