Daily Prayer Guide - April 23 - Longing to Dwell with God

Read:

Psalm 27:1-5; 13-14

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid?

² When the wicked advance against me

to devour me,

it is my enemies and my foes

who will stumble and fall.

³ Though an army besiege me,

my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

even then I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in his temple.

⁵ For in the day of trouble

he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent

and set me high upon a rock.

¹³ I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord.

Consider:

David’s trust in the Lord was unfettered, completely unrestrained, nothing hindered him from looking to the Lord for the light to see his way through difficult days, the hope that would fuel his confidence and the assurance of God’s salvation to sustain him. 

David asks only one thing from the Lord.

David’s son, Solomon,  also only asked for one thing of the Lord, wisdom.  His request moved God’s MIND and He was pleased to provide it along with all the benefits that wisdom would supply. 

David’s request  however, moved God’s HEART, and so he was known as the man after God’ own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).  Both David and God longed for the closeness of sweet relationship, the desire to always be together.

David’s request was …

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek:

  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

For David, to live in the Lord’s house was the greatest blessing of his life.

For many of us, we long to be back together, ‘in church’ where we can worship the Lord together. 

We must remember, the temple did not exist in David’s days.  The Lord did not allow David to build the temple, but that was for his son Solomon to accomplish.  David could not be speaking here of living and meeting with God in a physical place, but instead a spiritual dwelling place where he would seek the beauty of the Lord, everyday and all the days of his life.

David knew that in God’s presence, his life was secure, regardless of how many days he was to live on earth and he would see the goodness of the Lord, in the land of the living.  For David, every action of every day was an act of worship for he always lived in the temple of the Lord.  He was never outside of the temple of God, regardless of where his life took him in his day.

For David, living in God’s temple was the nature of his relationship with the Lord.  Wherever he went in his days, he never left the temple of the Lord.  Whatever he did, from the leisure of his palace to the battlefield of an enemy, he was always confident of the Lord’s security.  Every challenge that he faced, every threat that came his way, every enemy or obstacle in his day could not shake him from his hiding place in God’s sacred tent. 

Today as we shelter at home and long for the freedom to be someplace else, is the place we long for the temple of the Lord?  I am not talking about a building or a gathering, but the confidence that comes from a close relationship with God himself.  Let us be like David who said:

¹³ I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Prayer: Father, Thank you that in your presence we find security for our lives.  Help me to long to constantly live in your temple with you, and that wherever I go today, from one room of my house to another, I never leave your presence and you are giving me life. 

·      Thank God that he has made you to be a living temple .

·      Express to him your longing for him and to be in his life as much as he is in yours.

·      Ask him to show you how to worship him in the course of your day today.

·      Ask for strength in this time while we wait for his hand to remove this virus from our land.

·      Pray for the people in your life who are part of Pleasant Valley, that they also would be living in his spiritual temple today.

·      Pray for those who are ill today, that they would find shelter and healing in God’s presence today.

Father, Thank you that you make it possible for us to know you and your goodness today.  Amen 

Meditate:

1 Corinthians 6:19

“ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”