[ 1 minutes to read ]
I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me:
teach me thy statutes.
~ Psalm 119:26
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
– Psalm 66:18-20
Our prayers to God can be hindered and regarding iniquity is a sure way. Prayers can be hindered in other ways. Peter warned husbands to honor their wives “that your prayers be not hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). The Psalmist here is blessed for he declared his ways to God and God heard him.
The first prayer is a confession and the second is a petition, “Teach me thy statutes.” This prayer is prayed repeatedly throughout this long Psalm. The repetition highlights the inexhaustible treasure of God’s Word and the exhaustible limits of our understanding. There is always more to know, more to learn. This is a foretaste of heavenly glory where God will unfold the riches of His grace “in the ages to come” (Ehpesians 2:7).
This continual prayer is a continual reminder of our weakness and limitations. It is also an humble confession that we don’t know and understand all. The prayer acknowledges God as the source of all true knowledge and humbly bows before Him as student to Teacher.
Listen to Psalm 119 Sermon Series