My new prayer for my life.

Have you ever stumbled on to a verse before that you have probably read a thousand times but never knew it was there? That’s what happened today. I was blown away by this one verse that I really never knew existed. I had read this chapter before, multiple times, and you probably have too. If I told you it was the longest chapter in the Bible would you know where I was reading? More than likely you would, but if I asked you to recite me Psalm 119:20, could you? I couldn’t either until just a little bit ago, when God put a new prayer in my heart for my life. Psalm 119:20 in the NCV says this, "I wear myself out with desire for your laws all the time".

There were two things that got me when I read this one verse. The phrases “wear myself out”, and “all the time”. Let’s take a look at our lives for just a second. There is a lot of stuff that we do for fun, for money, for family, or for friends that wear us out. We go to the lake all day and get scorched and wear ourselves out tubing and fishing, but its fun! We wear ourselves out helping a family member move. We will pack for days and then pack all night before they leave and then go help unload all the mess that they had. We wear ourselves out working to provide for our families. We want them to have the best of the best and we will almost work ourselves to death trying to get them the things they want. We wear ourselves out almost every day, but do we wear ourselves out wanting more of God?

The Psalmist’s desire to know more of the commands of God wore on him until he was completely worn out. The Psalmist was so overcome by the desire to know more about God that he had no more strength left to do anything. WOW! That to me says a whole lot about who this Psalmist was; and it also says a whole lot about you and me. Where has our longing for God gone? When will we ever step back up to the plate and be a leader like this Psalmist?

But that’s not all! Look at the second phrase that caught my attention. “All the time”. When have you ever thought about one thing “all the time”? There are not many things in this life that I can truly say that I think about all the time. The number one thing I think about all the time is, Me! I mean you are going to take care of yourself, right? When you are thirsty, you will get yourself something to drink. The same thing goes for when you are hungry; you will get some kind of food to eat. The other thing I think about all the time is my wife. She never leaves my mind. Her wellbeing is at the front of my mind. Being the husband my main concern is making sure she has all she needs. But you take one look at my life and you will see that God is not something that is on my mind “all the time”. What do you see when you look at yours? Is He on your mind all the time? Why shouldn’t He be at the forefront of our minds every day? After the price that He paid to set us all free from the bondage of sin, doesn’t that deserve some thought?

“Father I love you and you deserve more of me. Help me every day to wear myself out in Your word. Help me to have You on my mind all the time. Make me the person that You want me to be. Help me to be more like this Psalmist, so I can share You with more people that I come in contact with.”

"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." Clarence Budington Kelland

I know it is a couple of days late but I wanted to tell you a little bit more about how I feel about you, Dad. I know we talked on Father’s Day and I told you how great of a father you were but I wanted to write and tell you a little more.

Dad I believe this quote says it all, "My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it". I remember when people always used to say, “you look so much like your dad”, “you sound just like your dad”, “you remind me so much of your dad when he was your age”. All of these quotes used to make me squirm. I didn’t want to look, sound, or be like my dad; you were old!! Hahaha! I didn’t realize it then but I do now.

If I only have one wish now it is to be just like you Dad because you are just like our Father. You didn’t tell me what to do growing up but you lived out how you wanted me to live. You showed me the way. You walked the talk. I can think of a lot of great memories we had while I was growing up. I will never forget you teaching me how to fish. I will never forget the time at Lake Eufaula when I caught that big bass right next to the camper. All I remember you saying is just keep on casting and maybe he will bite. What was the likelihood of me catching that fish? He could see everything I did. There was no way that he was going to bite. You could have told me that, but you didn’t. And because you didn’t, I kept throwing until he finally took the bait.  I remember all the time you spent throwing with me in the backyard. All the waffle balls you threw so I could hit. I remember all the times that I was down after a game, but you would explain that it was just a game. In all actuality that game didn’t mean anything. It was the way I played the game. It was the way I represented Christ to the players and the fans. I remember so many things and I remember you showing me how to be a man. A man that wasn’t afraid to express his feelings. A man that wasn’t afraid to say when he was wrong. A man that walked and talked the way Christ would have. I remember all of those things growing up. I never really knew how much I was watching the way you lived until now.

The thing I am thankful for the most is the way that you showed me how to love my wife. Ephesians 5:25-31 says “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Dad you showed me how to love a woman the way Christ loves the church. You showed me how to be unselfish, caring, loving, and grateful. You love mom so much, and I saw that, and it made me understand that she was a part of you and you had to take care of her the same way you took care of yourself. The husband that you are to mom has made me the husband I am today. I learned all of that from the way that you lived your life. And I hope one day that my life will show my kids the way that they are supposed to live. Not according to me but according to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thanks for being a great dad and thanks for showing me how to live a life that pleases God. I love you and miss you!

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” Col. 1:10