“Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness” (PSALM 119:40).
When all a man desires from God is a spiritual uplift that would make him abandon worldly pursuits and seek His kingdom and righteousness, he begins to attract the riches of Christ. This is the state in which the writer of our text found himself.
Inspired by this gracious teaching, the psalmist backs away from the world and, line by line, in his prayer, only asks our heavenly Father, “Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart”. There is no quest for the carnal as he is cognisant of the supremacy of the spiritual in the affairs of humanity.
Our prayers reflect where we stand in the kingdom of God. If we storm His throne with pleas for only butter and bread, and ironically with scant interest in necessary food for our souls, we are not passing the right signals as believers. If we pray back-to-sender supplications asking God to kill our so-called enemies, we are not being faithful followers of Christ. Our communion with God in prayer reveals the state of our spirit, whether it is quickened or one that is slumbering and insensitive to the spiritual.
Among a race in West Africa, there is a proverb which describes God as the King with the limitless capacity to listen to a cacophony of petitions from all over the universe all at once. That cannot be disputed but this caveat must be added: He also has the monumental ability to sift what reaches His realm. He only grants answers to pleas in accordance with His will and for our spiritual growth and eternal benefit.
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