Psalm 119: 145 - 152 (NLT)

“I pray with all my heart; answer me, Lord! I will obey your decrees. I cry out to you; rescue me, that I may obey your laws. I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words. I stay awake through the night, thinking about your promise. In your faithful love, O Lord, hear my cry; let me be revived by following your regulations. Lawless people are coming to attack me; they live far from your instructions. But you are near, O Lord, and all your commands are true. I have known from my earliest days that your laws will last forever."

Have you ever been around someone that only talks about themselves?

You probably weren’t around them for too long.

Being around self-centered people is draining and boring. But we are often that way to God.

Selfishness can come in many forms, and a common way Christians can be selfish is by expecting God is be the only one to put effort into the relationship.

This section of Psalm 119 has five verses that start with “I,” and there are three things we can take away from that.

We Must Reach Out to God

V. 146: I cry out to you; rescue me, that I may obey your laws.

The psalmist initiates conversation with God. He cries out and asks God to rescue him. He expects God to move, but recognizes that he must reach out.

That’s not to say God won’t rescue us without him asking. It shows humility, and God loves a humble heart.

God First, Us Second

V. 147-148: I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words. I stay awake through the night, thinking about your promise.

I think it’s safe to say that most people don’t like to wake up before the sun rises. But the psalmist puts God before his own desires.

He knows it’s worth it to put himself second and God first.

When we do that, we’ll be filled by the Spirit. And we’ll be more satisfied than we would if we pursued our own wants.

We Must Take Ownership of Our Relationship with God

V. 145: I pray with all my heart; answer me, Lord! I will obey your decrees.

We cannot expect God to answer our prayers by sheer luck or fate. You can’t expect your friend, partner, spouse, child, student, etc., to know something if you don’t tell them. That’s unfair.

“But God is all-knowing. He already knows.”

Correct. But, reaching out is a sign of surrender and humility. Expecting God to act for your sake is selfish and arrogant.

Take heart, this isn’t easy. We all struggle to give our sins - large and small - to God. It’s difficult to surrender our pride, lies, selfishness, to the one who can change us. But verse 149 should be our prayer.

“In your faithful love, O Lord, hear my cry; let me be revived by following your regulations.”

Through God’s word, we will be pierced. We will understand and find out more about our God than we could ever know.