Psalm 37:4

Receiving

the desires of my heart!

Psalm 37

is a

Psalm of David

 “Delight yourself also in the Lord,

and He shall give you

the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37:4 NKJV

 

For many Christians, Psalm 37:4 is a favorite verse.

It certainly is one of mine.

~ ~

A few years ago as I was yearning for a desire of my heart,
I began to really think about that verse.

This page traces my journey
toward a greater understanding of that verse.

What does it mean to “Delight yourself in the Lord”?

Uplifted, happy attitude

The word “delight” has the idea of having an uplifted, happy attitude.

Enjoyment

Also, when I “delight” in a person, I enjoy being with that person and seek to have that person enjoy me.

Wholehearted Honoring

In thinking of the definition of “delighting in a person” I would also add the idea of “honoring” the person.

When we seek to treat someone with honor, it expresses our love and delight in that person. It shows that we think that person is valuable and worthy of our time.

Approach God as a real person.

So to me it was obvious that God wants us to approach him as with a real person.

Just because God is invisible to us, doesn’t mean we should forget that he is right there with us all day.

I’ve often thought about how it looks to God if a person goes about his life for days at the time without ever acknowledging the one who walks with him every step. Thinking about that makes me feel sad for God. He loves us so much, and so often we ignore him.

Happy, cheery, grateful, honoring attitude

and

Enjoyment

So I submit to you that:

* Approaching God with a happy, cheery, grateful, honoring attitude seems a part of the understanding of the verse.

* And enjoying my times with God also seems to be a part of the verse.

* And thirdly, enjoying the activity of reading the words of God.

Below is a prayer that I recently wrote one day

after thinking about Psalm 37:4.

This prayer is written to express my gratitude to God.

And when I pray this prayer, it focuses my attention on increasing my delight in HIM.

Prayer to the Lord

Lord,

You are amazing.

I delight in you this day.

I delight in your divine love that sought me and brought me to salvation.

I delight in your divine peace that assures me of my eternal home.

I delight in your healing mercies that have given me testimonies of overcoming weaknesses and sicknesses.

I delight in your provision that gives me my daily bread.

I delight in your beauty that manifests in the earth and in the sky.  The beauty of nature surrounds me and gives me joy.

I delight in your friendship that daily shares my joys and my sorrows.

I delight in your wisdom that guides me toward your will and your ways.

Heavenly Father, help me to delight in you more every day.

In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen

Copyright © 2015 Beth McLendon of Inspirational-Prayers.com

Another insight!

Looking Deeper into

Psalm 37:4

Jesus said,

"When you do it to the least of these,

you have done it unto me."

Matthew 25:40

So - 

as I continued on my journey of understanding: 

I thought back to Matthew 25:40

when Jesus was inferring that

when you feed the hungry, give the thirsty a drink,

visit those in prison, and help the sick and needy –

then we are actually doing it to Jesus.

.

I also thought about the time that

Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Jesus asked Saul why Saul was persecuting HIM.

Saul was confused

until he understood that

when he persecuted the Christians,

he was persecuting Jesus.

~

From those verses and others that came to mind, 

I realized that intentionally blessing people

and delighting in them

(approaching them with a happy, uplifted, honoring

attitude)

is

very pleasing and delighting to God.

So if I want to delight God, I need to give some form of “delight” to all the people he deeply delights in.

Thoughts to Consider

Psalm 37:4 is sometimes approached by people (me included) with some selfishness in our heart.

Sometimes a lot of our motivation is about getting something from God.

But

if we will not let that truth hinder us,

we will find that the journey

to manifesting Psalm 37:4

in our life

will be filled with an

ever – increasing

evidence of a changed heart.

As we intentionally

seek to delight in God

and the people he loves,

we will - at some point -  notice that

our heart has miraculously become

even more genuinely loving and kind!

Prayer lifted up to the Lord

The following is a prayer about blessing other people.

Even though it doesn’t have the word “delight” in it, it expresses that concept of treating others as valuable and thereby honoring God.

 

Lord of my heart,

I value you, and I value your Word.

Your Word tells me to love and bless other people. Your will is for me to view everyone in my life as valuable. You want me to honor people and treat them with respect every day.

I receive my mission to love people this day. I receive my mission to be helpful toward their needs, compassionate toward their hurts, encouraging toward their trials, enthusiastic toward their victories, warm toward their presence, and forgiving toward their mistakes and sins.

Change my heart, Lord. Teach me to be more like you.

I will yield to you this day.

Amen

Copyright © 2014 Beth McLendon of Inspirational-Prayers.com

One More Prayer

Loving Lord,

Your love for me is nourishing and refreshing.

Your desire for me is to help me grow.

Your Word reminds me that you take joy in me.

You actually delight in me.

And I am learning to delight in you.

Amen!

Copyright © 2014 Beth McLendon of Inspirational-Prayers.com

The last prayer from our Prayer against Pride page

He will fulfill the desire

of those who fear and worship Him

[with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];

He also will hear their cry and will save them.

Psalm 145:19 AMP

For those who like to study the Psalms -

Here are SOME our Psalms pages.

Each one is unique and different.

We suggest you start with a simple one such as

Psalm 117.

Psalm 61  -    (a commentary)  Save me, Lord!

Psalm 91  Comfort during distressing times (not a commentary)

Psalm 95  Finding Inspiration and Creating Dedication  (a commentary)

Psalm 100:4 - Discovering a Prayer Pattern about Thanksgiving to God

Psalm 104 - Insights and Prayer  (a simple commentary)

Psalm 107  Beauty and Blessing  (a commentary)

Psalm 117   An easy Bible study  (a commentary)

Psalm 136    A Psalm of God's love  (a commentary)

Psalm 150THE FUN Psalm

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