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Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to himself. Confess any known sin. Thank him for his forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and his sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s word. Pray for others in your life that they too would know and love God today.
Read:
Psa. 25:1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; 2 in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. 3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. 4 Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. 6 Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord. 8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. 11 For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. 12 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. 13 He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
Understand:
When David wrote this Psalm prosperity was closely tied to land and to a lasting inheritance. David wrote that the man who fears the Lord will experience prosperity that will extend to his children. Fear of the Lord was revealed in obedience to the Lord. In the covenant with Moses, law obedience resulted in possession of the Land and safety and security in the land.
Of course no one kept the law perfectly so all their days in the land were the result of grace and eventually they lost their land inheritance through their rebellion against God.
David lived during a time of parallel covenants both law and grace. Lasting possession of the land was based on law obedience, but lasting relationship with God was based on God’s grace. The covenant God made with David was a covenant of grace not law. It did not depend on human faithfulness but rather on divine faithfulness. God would keep this promise all by himself.
Apply:
Why do the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer? The wicked do not prosper, not in the long term. And the righteous do suffer, but not in the long term.
How do you view prosperity? How do you measure it? Are you jealous of those with more? Do you wish God had given you more? Are you envious of those whose lives appear to be easier than yours? Do you wish you had fewer troubles in your life? Do you feel God has forsaken you or is mistreating you?
Reflect on this passage…
Phil. 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
How can you be more prosperous than to have “all of your needs meet”? What does this mean exactly? What are “his glorious riches in Christ Jesus?”
*From what you have just read and considered what is a personal implication/application for your life today?
Live:
(Personalize this prayer for today, make it specific to the circumstances that face you.) Ask God to lead you through his Spirit as you go through your day. Ask him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell him “Yes” to his will today and ask him for his power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask him to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY TODAY.