"And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times,"Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said , "Speak, for your servant hears."(1 Samuel 3:10) I remember when I was a child and I like Samuel learned to recognize the voice of God. My grandmother did for me what Eli did for Samuel she taught me that when I opened the word of God to say, "Speak LORD, your servant is listening."
When I was a teenager I began reading through the Bible. When I came to Psalm 119 I camped there reading it over and over. I felt like I had been invited into a conversation that I had been longing to find the words for. "With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!...I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!"
I found in this Psalm requests that I, like the Psalmist, wanted to make. "Make me understand the way of your precepts...Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law!...Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statues...Give me understanding...Lead me in the path of your commandments...Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain!...Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word."
Of all the prayer requests I find in this Psalm the last one best describes my relationship with LORD, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments" (Psalm 119:176) For me this says it all. I came to Him because I heard Him calling to me. I wanted to be obedient to follow His ways but again and again my prayer has been one of a lost sheep. I don't forget the LORD's commandment but somehow in the confusion of life I seem to have forgotten my way home.
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming as a shepherd. You came to seek and to save the lost. Thank You for showing me that when I have become lost and confused that I can call out to You and You will find me and bring me back home.
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