“I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.”
-Psalm 119:162
Psalm 119:162. I’m smiling before I even read this verse. It’s one of my favorite verses the Psalms, specifically Psalm 119.
Isn’t that a great verse? God, your word brings me joy, like I’m looking for treasure and I find it. I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil, like you wake up every morning and there’s just spoil waiting for you and me, like all throughout the day to be able to have at our fingertips the word of God spoil, like a treasure. Psalm 119:162 is made clear, is more valuable than anything else in this world. I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. Do you see God’s word like that? Do you see God’s word as spoil, as treasure, just waiting to be unearthed and discovered and explored and enjoyed on a daily basis?
Psalm 119:162 Leads Us to Pray for Others
Let’s pray for those struggling to feed on God’s Word during this time. May God give them grace to rejoice at His Word like one who finds great spoil.
Now here’s the deal. As I ask that question, and as we’re praying for different people who send in prayer requests in the middle of this pandemic, let me encourage you to continue to send those in at radical. But I read this, that Sandy sent in. She said, “I’ve been following hard after the Lord for many years, but during these days in this pandemic, I’m finding it hard to remain close to Him and having a hard time praying and spending time in the word. I feel distant from God.”
I was having a conversation with someone just a little earlier about how they seem to lack motivation for God’s word right now, and they were just saying, “David, what do I do when I don’t have motivation to be in God’s word?” So I told that person just like I would say to Sandy, and I think we all know and realize anyone who has followed the Lord for any length of time, particularly for many years, that there oftentimes are ebbs and flows and desire and motivation, and there are times when we feel closer and there are times when we feel more distant from God.
There are so many different factors that can contribute to that. And I don’t want to spend, and we could spend hours diving into all those factors and diagnosing why that is at different points. But I think for now it’s sufficient to realize that there are moments like that. And maybe even times, moments, when we don’t have any unconfessed sin in our lives where we’re still pursuing God in prayer and the word, but the desire is just still not there and we’re just honestly missing the heart of Psalm 119:162, “I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.”
Psalm 119:162 Encourages Us in our Doubt
And so I just want to pray over Sandy. But not just Sandy because I’m guessing Sandy’s not alone. I’m guessing there are many people listening to this right now, or maybe you know somebody who’s in a situation like this and you could send this on as an encouragement to them. I just want us to pray over people who are really struggling with desire for God, His word during these days. Maybe just have hit a wall in the middle of this pandemic and hit a wall spiritually in particular.
So, God, I pray knowing that your word is like great spoil. It’s not just like it, it’s the greatest spoil. It’s the greatest treasure there is. Communion with you is indescribably, incomprehensibly precious. The fact that we right now are communing with you, the sovereign God of the universe, we are meeting with you, that you are listening to us, that you speak to us through your word, through your spirit. And so, God, I pray for Sandy, we pray together for Sandy and for every other child of yours like Sandy who is just struggling during these days with a lack of motivation, a lack of desire, feelings of distance from you.
God, we pray that you would restore to Sandy and others like Sandy the joy of salvation. That they would feel the beauty of intimacy with you and the wonder of your word. Your word is filled with treasure that is found there on a daily basis. It is available to us. God, please increase our intimacy with you, restore desire for you and restore delight in you.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray for Others to Know God’s Love
God, we do pray that you would certainly remove any distractions, any sin, any lesser desires that are taking root and numbing desire for you. God, at the same time, we know that sometimes there are just dry seasons. And so, God, I just pray that you would pour water on Sandy’s soul. I pray that Sandy would know your presence, your power, your love, your mercy, your grace, for Sandy in a fresh way today. And God, I pray that for every single person listening right now, regardless of whether or not they’re struggling with desire, God.
May they know, may every single person listening right now know your love for them. Even someone listening to this who doesn’t know you that today would be the day they’d experience relationship with you. They would place their faith in Jesus who’s died on the cross for their sins. God, I pray that the sacrifice of Jesus would be more precious to us today than yesterday. And God, that through this you would increase all of our desire for you. Increase all of our intimacy with you, that we might say, in Psalm 119:162, in our hearts, we rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. In Jesus’ name we pray this. 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.
