“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.”
– Psalm 119:1
There are so many verses. Obviously, we could dive into, in Psalm 119, this longest chapter in the Bible, with so many awesome verses about the goodness of God’s word, that leads us to worship, that guides us and directs us and protects us and does all kinds of things in our lives. So Psalm 119:1 really does summarize what’s to come in all these verses that follow in the Psalm. “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.”
Psalm 119:1 Reminds Us We Can Know God’s Word
May we know God’s Word and allow it to direct every area of our lives.
So now, I want us just think, especially about that last phrase. And in just a minute to pray according to it because it’s really in a sense the thrust, this whole Pray the Word podcast. “Blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord,” who walk in God’s word. Just think that the picture here is walking through life, going through day to day, all that’s involved with life, work, school, family, church.
Every interaction we have, every facet of our lives, the moments when we are alone, the moments when we are with others, everything we do, that’s our walk. And blessed are those who walk in God’s word. God’s word is guiding it all. God’s word is guiding your time alone and your time with others. His word is guiding your every interaction, your every conversation, your every thought that no one else sees, your every desire that no one else feels. His word guiding all of it. And when that is the case, you will be blessed.
Psalm 119:1 Reminds Us God Should Be Guided Us
So let me ask you, in light of this picture, are you walking in God’s word? Are you walking in the law of the Lord? Letting his word be your guide, direct your thoughts, form your desires, affect your conversations, lead your decisions, transform every facet of your life? Are you letting God’s word do that? And to the extent with which you are, be encouraged.
This is the key to blessing, to experiencing life. Abundance in this world is walking in God’s word. And then, to the extent to which you or I stray from God’s word, are not thinking in line with God’s word, are not desiring in line with God’s word, are not speaking in line with God’s word, or not making decisions in line with God’s word, then we are walking away from God’s blessing, from the abundance of life that God has designed for us.
This Verse Reminds Us We Should Know God’s Word
Now obviously, in order to walk in God’s word, we must know God’s word. And so let Psalm 119:1 be a clarion call from the very first verse, to you and me, to experience the blessing of God, an invitation to experience abundance in God. And the way to do this is by knowing God’s word and then letting his word affect, direct, transform every single facet of our lives.
This Verse Leads Us to Praise God
So God, we pray for this. God, we praise you for your word. Thank you for not leaving us in the dark about who you are and how to have abundant life. If we were just to think that there was a book written that contained, guaranteed, how to have abundant life, of course we would want to read that book. While this is your word, God, forgive us for not reading it, studying it, memorizing it, doing all these things, meditating on it that we see in Psalm 119:1. It is the key to blessing, by your spirit. Your word is the key to abundance. So help us to see it as that. Help us to know your word.
God, I pray for that more and more in my life. I pray for that for every single person who’s listening to this right now. Help us to know your word more and more and as we know it, to walk in it, to obey it, to live according to it. God, may it be said of us that we walked in your word. In every facet of our lives, all day today, all day tomorrow was to walk in your word. And in this, help us to experience your blessing. 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.
