Before the Throne Wednesday

Welcome back!  How are you and your "rewards" doing this week?  I pray if you've stumbled upon this post for the first time that you will be encouraged in the discipline and honor of praying for your children and of praying specific scriptures over them.

In recent Sundays our Senior Pastor has been preaching through the book of Ephesians.  He has also taken us to Romans 6 to look closer at what righteousness looks like in the life of a believer.  In that context, he has made this statement several times:

"The Spirit-filled life looks like the Law-filled life."

In regards to the Ten Commandments, he has also made this statement:

"The Ten Commandments are the character of God in writing."

One Sunday evening a month, rather than meeting at our church building for services, we've been meeting in small groups in different members homes.  In the group that my family has been a part of, we've had a gentleman speak about learning to love God's law and walk in His commands.  So, my mind has been on these two things a lot.

I desire for my children to know God's character and to live a Spirit-filled life.  As I've thought on these things, I have taken a closer look at Psalm 119.  The first two verses read like this in the NIV:

"Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD.  Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart."

According to John Calvin's commentary on the Psalms, "Among various matters dealt with in the psalm (119) are two main subjects: first, exhorting believers to follow godliness and holy living, and then pointing out the form of the true worship of God, so that the faithful may devote themselves to the study of the Law."

Here also is Calvin's thoughts on these first two verses of Psalm 119:

"The paradox set forth in the first psalm is given again:  men long for happiness but search for it by wandering through byways which lead to ruin.  Their greed hurries them in the opposite direction to that set forth here, for they imagine they will be happy the further they are from God.  The term 'way' denotes the manner or course of life, which is why he calls those blameless whose sincere desire is to practise righteousness.  The second clause defines what he means.  There is an implied contrast with those who follow their own devices, wearying themselves with inanities.  The prophet is not saying that there is no happiness unless we worship God perfectly, for there is no perfect obedience on earth.  Rather, because our uprightness is never complete, we take refuge in God's mercy; thus we are happy in that he does not impute our sins to us (Ps 32:2).  The second verse confirms this, asserting they are blessed who devote themselves to God's covenant and yield him obedience with their whole heart.  It is not sufficient to serve him only with external rituals; his truth must also be written on our hearts."

I encourage you today to pray Psalm 119:1-2 over your children that they may have God's truth written on their hearts.

Over the next several weeks of Before the Throne Wednesday, we will "pray" through Psalm 119 on behalf of our children, so be sure to join me!  You can find the other Wednesday posts by following these links:  1, 2, 3, and 4.


Blessings,