Psalm 116:1-2 (NRSV) God is listening
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
Devotion
The passage I selected, as we comment on the Psalm’s and their Spirituality, speaks to how the Lord has heard my voice.
This is particularly personal to me, in that I question if God is listening to my prayers. I wonder if God will be a part of my decisions as I think on or contemplate what is ahead. I have doubts about decisions that need to be made. I fear the choices I have to make when I have to determine which path to choose. When I look to the future, I question God’s presence and seem to be alone and left to my own abilities to determine what to do next.
I must say this is a hard feeling to overcome; however, the truth is that as I grow older and my faith strengthens, I try and confront this lack of faith as I move forward in my life. The insight that allows me to address this faithlessness in a time of need is to look in the rearview mirror.
When I look back at times of decision, at times when a choice had to be made, at a time when I didn’t know what to do, I can clearly see God’s hand in my life. There is no doubt that God has led me. There is no doubt that light was provided to my pathway. The presence of God is manifest in the way my life has progressed.
Because God turned his ear to me in my time of need for mercy, I will call on him as long as I live.
Prayer
Loving God, thank you for guiding me, leading me, loving me in my times of doubt and lack of faith. Strengthen my ability to trust you and hear your voice as I make decisions about the future. I have seen your hand guiding me in the past. Give me faith to trust you in the future. Amen.
Bob Clark