Oh Lord, my heart is not lifted up. My eyes are not raised too high. I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.
– Psalm 131:1–3
That’s the whole Psalm, those three verses, and it’s one of my favorite Psalms. The Psalmist’s saying, David specifically here is saying, “My heart’s not lifted up. My eyes not raised too high. I don’t occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.” In other words, there are many things I don’t understand, that I don’t comprehend, that I can’t see, that I’m in the dark on.
Psalm 131:1–3 reminds us to rest in God amidst uncertainty.
Just think about that in your life. Things you just don’t understand. Why this has happened or this is happening? And you struggle to see where is the good in that. You just can’t see it. It’s too beyond your sight. But verse two says, “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” What a picture of David saying but I am like a little baby resting in my mother’s arms. That’s how quiet my soul is.
How is that possible when you’re tempted to anxiousness and worry and confusion or anger or frustration? So many different emotions that you might experience when you’re facing things you don’t understand and you wish would change. And God is saying in Psalm 132, “Just rest in my arms. You can’t understand. You can’t see all things.” This is part of what it means to be children of God.
It means that he’s infinite. He sees all things, we don’t. We’re finite. We’re like little babies in the arms of an all-knowing Father. That’s who we are. And we can rest in his arms. Just as a mother cares for her child, nurtures her child, cherishes her child, feeds her child, protects her child, and does everything for her child, this is God toward us. He loves us, nurtures us, cherishes us, treasures us, feeds us, protects us. We can rest in his arms, which is why verse three says, “Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore you always have hope when you’re resting in the arms of God.” So I just want to pray these verses, this chapter over you right now.
Psalm 131:1–3 encourages us to find comfort in the promises of God.
God, I pray for this, certainly, over my own life, but God, I pray for this over every single person listening to this right now. Whether they’re at the start of their day, end of their day, or at some other point in their day. That they would see themselves as a weaned child with its mother in your arms, that you would quiet and calm their souls amidst whatever they’re walking through right now.
God, I pray for your quiet and calming of their soul. Amidst my own desire to lift my eyes and try to figure things out. Lord help us just to draw close to you and feel your comfort and your promises and your strong arms holding us and carrying us and leading us and guiding us, and providing for us and serving us, loving us in all the ways we need. God, we praise you. You are our hope. You are our hope. We hope in you. And we know when we hope in you, we will not regret it.
God, we praise you. From this time forth and forevermore, we will not regret hoping in you, trusting in you, resting in your arms. So help us to live there. And God help us to lead others to live there, for people around us today in an anxious world full of so many worries. Help us to point people to the peace and calm that are found in you, Jesus. God, help us to share the gospel today with people around us. To encourage brothers and sisters in Christ with the hope we have in you, and to spread this hope.
Prayer for the Moor People
God, we pray for the Moor people of Sri Lanka, India, and other parts of South Asia. Oh God, for 697,000 of them. This Muslim people group, hardly any known followers of Jesus among them.
God, we pray that the church in Southern India and Sri Lanka would spread the good news to the Moor people of your grace and your mercy, that you would help us as your church around the world to work with them, to get the gospel to them. Lord, we pray that the Moor people of India and Sri Lanka just throughout South Asia would be reached with the good news of your loving arms available to them in Jesus forever. God, we want them to rest in your arms forever. So we pray that you would cause them, oh God, the Moor people to be reached with your love, even as we rejoice and rest in your love for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray all this according to Psalm 131. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
