The Book of Prayer
Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
—Psalm 1:1-6
Delight is a wonderful state of being. When was the last time you experienced delight in God and His holy word? Maybe it was joyful awe as you realized that the holy, pure, divine, Creator of all things desires to communicate with you, and has provided His holy word in an effort to tell you about Himself and connect with you. Perhaps it was when you experienced His holy word come to life as He illuminated a particular passage at a time of particular need in your life. Maybe it was something entirely different, but isn’t the notion of finding delight in God and His holy word an intriguing thought?
I have heard it said that the Book of Psalms is God’s book of prayer. It is God’s holy word and it includes public and private prayers covering the spectrum of human condition from joy to anguish, from intimacy with God to fear, frustration and lonely lament. It also includes amazing praise and worship, and examples of how we might continuously seek God and dwell with and in Him regardless of our circumstance.
With this in mind, I turn to the book and begin reading at its beginning, verse 1:1. How does the book of prayer begin? It begins with happiness and acknowledgment that our choices impact our state of being. But before considering our choices, let’s consider the word translated as happy.
The Hebrew word is transliterated as asher. Psalm 1 begins, “Asher are those who…” Asher, usually translated in English as blessed or happy, means a state of joy, wholeness, satisfaction that is much deeper and fuller and more in every way than mere happiness. It is a state of being only possible through intimate, true, sincere communion with God. If we want to experience asher, happiness, that blessed state of being, we need intimate relationship with Him.
God’s holy word begins His book of prayer with the word asher and continues explaining the choices that rob us of that experience. If we follow advice from the wrong people or follow the wrong people on the wrong path, or do nothing at all, we will miss out, we will not experience asher. So what choices lead to this blessed state of happiness?
“Happy are those who … their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they mediate day and night.” Twice we see references to God’s holy word. God blesses us with His holy word. In the United States we may freely, without fear of arrest, access His word in a variety of translations and if we so choose, we may readily access it on our phones. There is rarely a time when we do not have access to His holy word; yet how often do we read it or meditate on it or memorize it? How often do we delight in it?
Through His holy word, God tells us a great deal about Himself, His desires for us, His love and His holy will. If we desire relationship with someone, don’t we long to learn as much as possible about them? And if someone you love writes you a letter, don’t you stop whatever you’re doing to read it?
Those who continuously meditate on and delight in His word are like trees planted near streams of water, they yield fruit in the proper season, their leaves do not wither and they flourish. They grow strong. They are mighty. Employing similar imagery, Jesus promises to give living water to everyone who asks for it and He promises it “will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
Christ Jesus offers living water, and we may access it by asking and by choosing to meditate on and delight in God’s holy word. Our choice is connected with His word. Jesus is the Word and He urges us to abide in Him and to allow Him to abide in us, much in the same way branches live through connection with the vine. So long as we stay connected to Him, His fruit will be born through us. Jesus had just said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15), and as He discusses the vine and branches He connects abiding, loving and obeying God’s holy word by saying,
“As my Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:9-11
How can we live in His will if we do not know what it is? Keeping, loving, abiding – these lead to complete joy, wholeness, satisfaction, the happy, blessed state of being described in Hebrew as asher. “Happy are those who … their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they mediate day and night.”
So how is this a prayer? Psalm 1 indicates that there are two paths, two options for us, and we must choose one or the other. One leads to God and the other leads away from God, one leads to asher and the other leads to emptiness, one leads to life and the other leads to despair, destruction and death. Given this understanding of reality, ask God to enlighten the eyes of your spirit that you might see the choices you are making, that you might clearly discern the options before you, that you might accurately identify the path leading to Him, that He will infuse you with His wisdom so you see the truth. Ask God to infuse you with His discerning Spirit so you are able to identify the whispers of the liar as he seeks to lure you down the wrong path. When you hear others express the notion that all paths lead to God, please know that the thought is contrary to God’s holy word, which clearly says some paths lead to Him and others do not.
As you open God’s holy word, before you begin to read it, pray for God to fill you with delight for His word, ask God to open your mind so that you understand His holy word, and ask Him to give you His energy and strength and clarity of thought so that you might continue meditating on His holy word day and night. At times I find, as I begin reading the Bible, my eyes are suddenly heavy, I can barely stay awake, and I know this is Satan attacking me. If this happens to you, ask God for help or tell Satan to leave you alone in Jesus’ holy name.
Ask Jesus for His living water, and meditate on and delight in Him and His holy word. Ask Him to fill you with streams of living water so that you will never thirst. Ask Him to fill you with His life abundant, His love, His light, His eternal life, His wholeness, His fullness, His joy, but please realize that our purpose is fruit. Part of the process of feeling His wholeness is fulfilling His will, which means living in our purpose, the purpose He designed for us, which involves producing fruit. So while we may be tempted to bask in His glory, experiencing His life, make your joy complete, flourish, grow strong and prosper in Him by producing His fruit.
Each day we make a variety of choices, may you choose Him. Amen.