Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Psalm 101 opens with a song to the Lord, praising his love and justice. Then it moves quickly to personal application as the poet says:
I will be careful to lead a blameless life–
when will you come to me? (v. 2).
What a poignant question. If prayer is a dialogue with God, when will God show up and speak with us? And what shall we do while we wait for him?
The poet starts the psalm with two things he does while he waits:
First, he sings to the Lord, praising his love and justice (v. 1).
Second, he affirms his commitment to lead a blameless life (v. 2a).
The remainder of the psalm describes this life the poet intends to live.
Let’s pray some phrases from the psalm.
Our father, we wait for you. When will you come to us? We long for your presence. As we wait, we renew our commitment to you and to your law, our commitment to live lives that are moral, loving, holy. As we review our commitment, we invite you to remember your commitment to us as our saviour, shepherd, helper, and friend.
The poet says,
I will conduct the affairs of my house
with a blameless heart (v. 2b).
Give us blameless hearts, Lord. Pure hearts, free of self-promotion, self-indulgence, self-pity. Hearts that act in love and mercy, treating our neighbors with dignity and respect.
The poet says,
I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.
I hate what faithless people do;
I will have no part in it (v. 3).
Yes, Lord, help us to discern good and evil in our hearts, our lives, and our society. Cure us of delusions, of false dreams about the good we would do if we were rich and powerful and influential. Help us to live graciously and thankfully our small lives of faith. As we wait for you, we submit our lives and our thoughts to your law.
The poet says,
The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with what is evil.
Whoever slanders their neighbour in secret,
I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
I will not tolerate (vv 4-5).
Yes, Lord, save us from personal and professional relationships that would corrupt us. Give us courage to silence those who slander others. Help us to recognize haughty eyes and proud hearts, and to avoid them.
The poet says,
My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
the one whose way of life is blameless
will minister to me (v. 6).
Set before our eyes the faithful in the land. May we reject what is violent and corrupt and evil, and learn from those who live by faith and righteousness.
The poet says,
No one who practises deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence (v. 7).
With the poet, Lord, we commit ourselves to the truth, and to those who speak truly. We renounce conspiracy theories and fake news; we renounce those who spend their spiritual energy by meditating on the evils of big pharma and deep state and lamestream media. Help us to meditate on your word, to discern and live by its truth. Help us to see this present evil age as you see it, God. Give us eyes of faith to see Christ and his kingdom.
And do not forget to come to us as we wait for you.
Amen.
I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Pray with Me 