“O
God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You, my soul thirsts for You,
my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no
water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your
power and glory. Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my
lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your
name I will lift up my hands. My soul shall be satisfied as with fat
and rich food, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips, when I
remember You upon my bed, and meditate on You in the watches of the
night, for You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I
will sing for joy. My soul clings to You, Your right hand upholds
me.” -Psalm 63:1-8 (ESV).
Often
I awake in the morning with a Bible verse I have memorized going
through my mind. Again I may awake with the words of a hymn and its
tune filling my waking thoughts. This morning I awoke with the words
of an old hymn going through my mind:
Prayer
is the soul’s sincere desire,.Unuttered or expressed,
The
motion of a hidden fire .That trembles in the breast.
I
could have selected from many scriptures verses to go with the title
of today’s devotional, “Prayer: In Fellowship with God.” I
took my Bible concordance and traced several references on prayer,
reading how saints of old prayed, and how our Lord went aside often
in His earthly ministry to seek God, be refreshed and renewed and
enjoy fellowship with the Father. And then I thought I came to a
good understanding of why the words of the James Montgomery hymn had
been in my mind when I awoke. “Prayer is the soul’s
sincere desire.” Sometimes it is unuttered; sometimes it is
expressed. Always it is “the motion of a hidden fire that trembles
in the breast.”
I
must admit I was disappointed that I could not find the hymn and its
beautiful words in a current hymnbook, and because most of my “old”
hymnbooks are still in the “house in the mountains,” I had to go
online to satisfy my curiosity about the beautiful words James
Montgomery (1771-1854) wrote so long ago and set to the “Camp
Meeting” melody harmonized by Robert G. McCutchan.
Psalm
63 is David’s prayer as he was hiding out in the wilderness of
Judah, seeking to escape Saul, jealous and vengeful, who wanted the
life of the one anointed to be the next king of Israel. Someone has
aptly stated that when we have no other way to turn, we turn to God
in prayer. Prayer should not be just a “last-ditch effort” for
any of us, although God welcomes and hears even our desperate pleas.
Even though Psalm 63 is a Psalm of Lamentation, it is still rich in
expressing the heart of prayer which is fellowship with God. The one
who prays seeks God, thirsts for fellowship with Him, longs to be in
His presence, and is rewarded by experiencing God and beholding His
power and glory. The one who prays embraces God’s love and
recognizes it as strong, steadfast, enduring. Fellowship with God
satisfies as a needed meal satisfies a hungry body. It is wonderful
to remember God when upon one’s bed and to experience the
protection of His mighty wings. Prayer develops a special
relationship between God and the one who frequently and constantly
turns to Him in prayer: “My soul clings to God; God’s right
hand upholds me!” Christians are very familiar with the Lord’s
instructions that we ask in His name (John 14:13-14). James
Montgomery ended his wonderful hymn with these words:
“O
Thou, by whom we come to God, The Life, the Truth, the way:
The
path of prayer Thyself hast trod; Lord, teach us how to pray!”
And
Jesus did just that! He gave us the Lord’s Prayer. Will you pray
it sincerely now?
-Ethelene
Dyer Jones 03.08.2015
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