Lawrenceville Daily Record

Not a Matter of Intelligence


Remember the smart kid from when you were in school? I think of a boy named Todd that I went to school with. He was good at every single subject. From high-level math and science to literature and writing, Todd earned straight A’s. I was good at a couple of subjects, but Todd seemed to effortlessly grasp tough concepts quickly, retain them and recite whatever factual details on command. Yes, he was disciplined, worked hard, and came from a supportive family, but he was also just plain smart.

Sometimes we think that the spiritual life is a matter of smarts. There are those believers who seem to excel at their knowledge of Scripture, lead prayer well and seem to have their lives together. They are articulate and seem wise. The author of Psalm 119, however, did not see natural human intelligence as the key to a thriving spiritual life. He believed the key was asking God to do for him what he could not do for himself: change his mind and heart.

In verses 33-37, the author makes five requests of God. Let’s look at two.

First, he prays, “Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end” (verse 33). This is a prayer to understand God’s instructions beyond the surface level. He wants to understand not only how to live out those instructions, but to see how good and excellent God’s ways are in contrast to this world’s destructive patterns. He prays for help with this because he knows that seeing these things is not a matter of brain power but of God granting him spiritual understanding.

Second, he prays in verse 36 that God would “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!” He recognizes a selfish bent inside of himself, a heart that often disobeys and prioritizes the wrong thing. This is an admission that his willpower is not enough to live according to God’s guidance. There is a corruption inside of himself that he cannot fix. So, he prays that God will incline his heart in the right direction. He is praying that his desires will become more holy under God’s influence.

Here is a challenge: make the requests of Psalm 119:33-37 your own every day for week. Pray them through. You might be surprised what God begins to do in your mind and heart. And you don’t have to be especially smart for him to do it.

Russ Veldman is pastor at Lawrenceville’s Free Methodist Church. He has been a resident of Lawrence County since 2013.

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