Time in the Word ~ Psalm 9:10

Have you ever experienced the awkward moment of meeting someone for the second time and not recalling their name? Or worse yet, to have worked with someone over many years and yet forget their name when introducing them? Apparently there are people we claim as acquaintances, and there are people we really know, and there is a big difference between the two. Our devotional text asks us a question: Is God simply your acquaintance, or do you really know him in your life? 

Psalm 9 finds David, as was usual in his life, between a rock and a hard place, totally dependent upon his God for deliverance. If David learned anything in those years of being pursued by King Saul, he learned one thing, that he was totally dependent upon God for deliverance from the oppressor. Psalm 9 is David’s prayer of both petition and praise for God’s saving intervention in his life.

The one characteristic that will be present in anyone who says that he or she knows God is that they are genuine, faithful, persevering prayer warriors. They understand that prayer is not a sometimes thing, it is an all the time thing, which requires passion for God, belief in his power, and total confidence in his purposes. A true prayer warrior experiences the power of God in their life. They are dependent upon the action of God in this world because they have experienced it and rely upon it for their daily deliverance. They know God because they depend upon him and trust him absolutely for his supply of whatever is required to their point of need.

There are three key points of aspiration for anyone that would truly know God:

1. I must trust God. When you know God, you trust him, and when you trust him, you will always obey him. It’s easy to trust God in the good times, but can you trust him in the bad times knowing that whatever is there for you is God’s best?
2. I must seek God. Are you a God seeker? When the chips are down and our reputation and faith are on the line, where do we go for counsel and help? If you are a God seeker, you go to him because you know experientially, biblically, and relationally that Jesus Christ will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
3. I must praise God. The Christian who truly knows God will always sing praises to the Lord for all good things that occur in life. This is the spontaneous joy that comes from the victorious life. Always stop and thank God for his great grace in your life. Those times of God’s deliverance in your life are the sweetest moments of bonding with the Lord and getting to truly know him.

THANK YOU, FATHER, FOR YOU HAVE GIVEN ME EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW YOU AND TO EXPERIENCE YOUR GOODNESS AND BLESSING EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE. MAY I ALWAYS REMEMBER TO PRAISE YOUR NAME.

Article by Mike White @ Summit Church of Christ