Intro: Welcome back to Orbit, I’m author Lauren Windle, and I’m in the hot seat one more time today as we round off the week with a short reflection to help you put God at the centre of your life.
Bible: Today, we are going to take a look at Psalm 4, and I’ll read verses 4 and 5:
Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the LORD.
Thoughts: This Psalm is written by King David and was originally intended to be set to music. The fact that I didn’t sing it is really a gift to us all. David is the master of passion and of lament. The psalms are ideal to read through when you’re struggling with something and you want to bring it to God. There’s no Christian politeness and forced gratitude when it comes to David’s prayers, he’s raw and honest and tells it like it is, and we can all learn from that.
How often will we have a right moan to our mates about something and then suddenly pretend to be all understanding and gracious when it comes to praying about it? I know I can be guilty of that. But God knows how we feel – so why hide it?
What I love about this is that in Psalm 4 David is petitioning God for relief from his suffering. It’s believed this is in response to people slandering his name. Much like Jesus who was vilified despite his incredible good deeds. But verses 4-5 aren’t a cry to the Lord, this is where David changes course slightly and is talking to himself.
He is readying himself to bring his woes to God. Do you ready yourself for prayer? Do you make sure you’re in the right mindset to truly connect with your creator or do you throw up a cheeky request when you’re running late and really want a bus. There’s space for small daily prayers like that – but actually we benefit greatly when we take time to deeply converse with God.
Here, David speaks to himself about his anger. This was righteous anger where he was furious that people were turning away from God. But even anger for a good reason isn’t an excuse to sin and David knew that. He spoke about meditation which is so valuable for resetting your focus on Jesus. Just to be clear – this isn’t the Eastern meditation where you empty your mind. This is Christian meditation where you *fill* your mind with God and his word and rest in it, allowing it to speak to you.
He spoke of sacrifices and of placing his trust completely in the Lord before continuing with his prayer of petition. He knew the value of spiritual disciplines like sacrifice but he also knew that gestures like that are useless if they’re not coupled with a genuine faith in God.
At the beginning of the Psalm it’s clear he’s in great distress but towards the end he speaks of how well he will sleep that evening thanks to the safety he knows he can rely on in the Lord. This outcry to God ends with him feeling God’s comfort.
Pray: Jesus, show me how to pray. Teach me how I can most effectively best out the world and really connect with you. I lay all my worries down before you and trust in you to work for the good of us who love you. Deepen my trust and faith in you so that I can rest in your comfort. Amen
Silence: There's now just a few moments of silence for you to pray, reflect on these ideas, or simply sit and be still.
Action: Here’s today’s practical challenge to help you put this passage into action in your life:
Today and over the weekend – so just for three days – set aside ten minutes. Go somewhere quiet where you won’t be disturbed (I’ve genuinely used the toilet before) and read a Pslam. 91, 73, 139 are all good but really any you like. Once you’ve read it pray to God that it will speak to you and then sit quietly for the rest of the ten minutes allowing the words to sink in. Once your ten minutes is up say another prayer to God, thanking him for what his word has shown you.
Outro: That's all for Orbit today. Thanks for having me this week, I’ve loved sharing the ways God’s word has moved me with you. Orbit will be back with another host next week.
