Friday 23 May 2014

May 23: Psalm 102:1-7

Key Verse: Psalm 102:6
I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert.

Devotion:
I do love the way that words are used in the Psalms; the descriptions of various states in life and feeling are often expressed as animals of various kinds. Here the broken spirit of a person is described as being a pelican of the wilderness, a solitary bird out in the wilderness fending for itself. Or to be compared to an owl in the desert, another solitary bird whose distinct cry can be heard a way off.

We are like these descriptions in many ways because we do tend to withdraw when we are in trouble or being hurt. We feel like we are all alone and that we have to lift up our unique cry to God because nobody is there. But God is always there and He always listens to our cries. We lift up our prayers to God and He listens to every part of our cry.

When we lift up our prayers we want God to answer them quickly because we fear we cannot wait for His perfect timing. When we feel down spiritually we often do forget to eat our daily bread; we find it hard to give time to God and time to studying because our minds are so occupied with the pain of the separation we feel. We feel starved as we weaken in spirit without that daily bread. But God is still there and He is still listening to every word in our prayers.

But pray we must. We need to lift up our requests daily and constantly. We need to be in constant contact with God otherwise we fall into disrepair very quickly. If we do not eat properly we suffer physically. If we do not consume our spiritual food properly, we suffer spiritually. God continues to supply what we need and it is our task to accept that daily bread and to consume it so that we ca continue to grow.

Points to Ponder:
Do you eat regularly?

Do you ready God’s Word regularly?