“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. Oh, Israel. Hope in the Lord. From this time forth and forever more.”
– Psalm 131
You get the picture here in Psalm 131. The Psalmist is like a weaned child with its mother. Like just picture a child lying in the lap of its mom, just resting, calm and quiet. Don’t picture like screaming, crying, child, like calm and quiet child peacefully resting in the arms of its mother, and that’s what the Psalmist says, describes his heart before God. My heart is not lifted up. My eyes not raised too high. I am resting, trusting, hoping in you. Oh, I just want to pray that over. You and me over every single person who’s listening to this right now that we would see ourselves in this way.
Psalm 131 Reminds Us God Calms our Soul
“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
As people are sending in different prayer requests to radical.net/prayerrequest in this pandemic, and we’re praying for each other accordingly, I just have to read this from Isabel and it’s actually less of a prayer request. Although, she says I’m a care coordinator in a community mental health team in South London in England, and we’ve seen all kinds of news about the spread of this virus across England.
I think about all the challenges that Isabel is likely facing and experiencing on a daily basis, coordinating care in a community mental health center. And yet Isabel writes, “I’ve been listening to these daily prayer podcast. It has been a privilege and inspiration to pray for all of these different people and needs.” Isabel writes, “I was feeling far from God and quite distant from his word, but hearing the word every day on this podcast and the topic for prayer has lifted me up and made me more eager to pray for others to read God’s word and to seek him.”
Oh yes, yes, yes. May it be so. When I hear these words from Isabel, I just picture Isabel in a very similar way to Psalm 131, just finding deeper rest in, joy in, strength in, inspiration in the arms of God, in his word in prayer to him.
Psalm 131 Leads Us to Pray Over Others and Ourself
Let’s just pray accordingly, Psalm 131 over each other. God, we pray that we would see ourselves, feel ourselves, even right now like a weaned child with its mother. May that be the reality in our souls, no matter where we are, no matter what we’re walking through. God, as I think about Isabel working, coordinating care in a mental health center in South London in England, God, so many needs so many challenges around her. I trust and even in her own life, but God, I praise you for the rest, for the joy, for the peace that you’re providing her in even greater ways during these days through prayer, through your word. And so God, I pray that over every single person listening right now, amidst all that we have going on around us, amidst all the things we’re walking through, amidst all the needs we’re surrounded by.
God, we pray for quiet souls that are able to rest in you, in your word and are able to hope in you. Oh, Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. That’s the only way we can have rest, oh God, through hope in you. Not hope in medicine, not hope in economy, not hope in government leaders, not hope in ourselves. God, hope in you. This is where we find rest and quiet for our souls. Help us to live in this amidst the turbulence and turmoil around us, amidst global pandemic. We pray for peace and quiet in our souls that comes from hope in you, time with you, in prayer and confidence in you and your word. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
