Words of Life (Psalm 19:7–11) - Radical

Words of Life (Psalm 19:7–11)

I want to set up how we’re going to pray according to these verses. So about a week ago, I was preaching on the reliability of God’s Word on how we know that the Bible is the Word of God. I walk through seven reasons we can know. The Bible is God’s Word because of its timeless authority, its historical accuracy, the eyewitness testimony we see there, the manuscript, reliability, the internal consistency of God’s Word, the supernatural authenticity of God’s Word, and then fulfilled prophecy that we see in God’s Word. So I’m not going to re-preach that whole sermon. But I finished preaching and I’m just standing over to the side as we’re preparing to take communion.

And I was just so in awe of this book, the Bible that I was holding in my hands. And I was so overjoyed with the privilege of talking about it and preaching it. There’s nothing like God’s Word, the Word of God. The grass withers and the flower fades. The Word of God will stand forever in a way that nothing in this world will. The Bible, what a treasure. God’s revelation of himself, God’s spoken word to us, and all the mystery and glory and wonder of how God has given it to us over 1500 years of 40-plus authors writing down words carried along by the Holy Spirit so that you and I could hear from God. So you and I could know God. What a treasure, like invaluable treasure, we have in God’s words.

So I just want to read Psalm 19:7–11 and go right into praying in light of it. And really what we’re just going to do is praise God for his Word, and pray that we would treasure it for what it is in our lives.


The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
– Psalm 19:7–11

Oh God, we praise you for your Word. It’s perfect, sure, right, pure, clean. It’s true and righteous. Every single word is right. It’s more desirable than gold. It’s sweeter than the sweetest food we could taste. God, we praise you for revealing yourself to us, revealing who we are to us.

God, we praise you for the effects and the fruit of your Word in our lives… For how it revives our souls, makes us wise, and brings joy to our hearts. Your Word opens our eyes. Your Word endures forever. And it warns us and leads us to great reward. So, God, we praise you for your Word and we pray that you would help us to steward this gift you’ve given to us.

Help us to meditate on it day and night, to do according to all that is written in it, and to experience all this fruit in our lives to experience the great reward that’s found in your Word and living life according to your Word. God, thank you. And God we pray you’d help us to saturate our conversations with it, just like Deuteronomy 6 talks about with other brothers and sisters in Christ to talk about your Word all the time, to fill our conversations with your Word. Fill our homes with your Word. Fill our churches with your Word.

And God, help us with the power of your Holy Spirit to share your Word with people who don’t know you right now, that they might come to know you. And God, we pray specifically for all the languages in the world right now that don’t have your Word translated into those heart languages. Please, oh God bless all those who are working on Bible translation, help all of us to play our part in Bible translation so that the world, all of it might be reached with your word.

Prayer for the Berti People

We pray specifically today for the Berti people of Sudan, for this Muslim people group in Sudan. So hard to reach right now. God, we pray that your Word would be made known to the Berti people of Sudan, that they might be saved, that they might have eternal reward from hearing your Word in their language. May it be so. We pray all of this according to your Word in Psalm 19:7–11. Amen.

David Platt

David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder 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.

LESS THAN 1% OF ALL MONEY GIVEN TO MISSIONS GOES TOWARDS REACHING THE UNREACHED.

That means that the people with the most urgent spiritual and physical needs are receiving the least support. You can help change that!