“Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord who greatly delights in his commandments.”
– Psalm 112:1
And then down in verse nine after all these other descriptions of the man or woman who fears the Lord and delights in the commandments of God, verse nine says, “He has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn is exalted in honor.”
So, we are applying the word during these days to specific prayer requests People are sending in at radical.net/prayerrequest that deal with this global pandemic. I encourage you to continue to send those in. But I want to read what Porsche wrote.
Blessed Are Those Who Fear the Lord
“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!… He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.”
Porsche wrote, “I live in Idaho falls and work as a bus driver for district 93. I’m volunteering to deliver meals Monday through Friday to children who usually eat at school, but because school is canceled and families are quarantined, they’re bagging lunches so that these children, who would otherwise go without food, have a meal.”
Porsche goes on to talk about the number of kids that she serves, that she knows by name, and she has opportunities to not just share a meal with but to share the gospel with, not only kids but their families. Then Porsche prays that God would get all the glory from these meals that are being distributed and I just, I think about Matthew 5:13–16 just think about salt and light that people may see good deeds and glorify God and heaven.
Psalm 112:1 Delights in the Commandments of God
And then I think about Psalms 112:1. Let me read it again. Blessed is the man or woman who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments. He has distributed freely. He is given to the poor. Like what a picture of fearing the Lord, loving God, the lighting in his commandments leads us to distribute freely, to give generously to those who are in need around us.
And I see so many evidences of this in the church that I have the privilege of pastoring as members across the church who’ve just stepped up to serve in so many different ways at-risk, and to read what Porsche is doing as a bus driver, volunteering to do this. And so, I want us to pray for Porsche, for many like Porsche, who are doing this kind of work on a continual basis knowing, I should mention just like we said in the church I pastor over and over again. Not everybody should be doing this work. Many are more at risk health wise and need to be sheltering in place all the more. But for those who might be able and obviously with wise precautions, but to distribute freely and to give generously to those in need, this is indeed glorifying to God.
Psalm 112:1 Prays for God to Bless Nurses and Those that Serve
So, God, we pray right now together, all of us for Porsche, we thank you for your grace in Porsche. We pray that you would bless her and all the work she’s doing, Lord. Every single day when she gets into that bus, we pray that you would lead, guide her steps so that she would know you are with her and that every single one of those kids and those families who receive meals from her, that they would see her and give you glory in a Matthew 5:14–16 kind of way.
God, please may it be so, and God please bless numerous others who are listening right now and who are giving time, attention, and resources during these days to distribute freely, to give generously to others who are in need. God some through their work. Obviously, as we have prayed and continue to pray for doctors and nurses and grocery store workers and just so many other people who are doing all kinds of work during these days for other’s good. And then others who are volunteering totally apart from their jobs to do that. God, we pray that you would help us as your people all the more during these days, the global pandemic, God help us to distribute freely and to give generously for the good of many people. And ultimately, we pray for the glory of your name. 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.
