The Bible and Prayer

The Bible and Prayer
Psalm 119:169-176
January 14, 2024

At the beginning and middle of every new year, we spend one Sunday being reminded of the importance of the Word of God in our lives from Psalm 119.  This morning, we come to the last stanza in this great text.  We will find in this passage many of the same themes we have seen elsewhere in the psalm:

• Praying for understanding (v. 169; cf. vv. 27, 34, 73, 125, 144)
• Living “according to Your word” (v. 170; cf. vv. 41, 58, 76, 116)
• The need for divine teaching (v. 171; cf. vv. 7, 12, 26, 64, 66, 68, 71, 73, 99, 108, 124, 135)
• God’s and His Word’s righteousness (v. 172; cf. vv. 75, 138, 144)
• The psalmist’s need for “help” (vv. 173, 175; cf. v. 86)
• The psalmist’s need “for Your salvation” (v. 174; cf. vv. 123, 166)
• “Your law is my delight” (v. 174; cf. vv. 77, 92; cp. vv. 24, 143)
• The desire to “live” (v. 175; cf. vv. 17, 25, 37, 40, 50, 77, 88, 93, 107, 116, 144, 149, 154, 156, 159)
• I am “Your servant” (v. 176; cf. vv. 16, 17, 23, 65, 84, 122, 124, 125).
• “I do not forget Your” Word (v. 176; cf. vv. 61, 83, 109, 141, 153). [Bill Barrick]

But there is also something of a new emphasis as well — the uniting of the themes of Bible and prayer.  While the psalmist petitions and prays in other stanzas, this may be the most prayer-centric stanza in the psalm.  As the psalmist reads, he is encouraged to pray, and as he prays, he remembers the importance of the Word of God.  And that is a reminder to us of the importance of both these components to our spiritual lives — we need both Word and prayer.  Someone has asked “which is more important in the spiritual life, the Bible or prayer?”  And a wise man answered:  “Which wing of an airplane is most important, port or starboard?  You need both for the plane to fly — and so you need both Bible and prayer to progress spiritually.”  And that is the message of this stanza; in this last stanza (vv. 169-176) we are told:

Let the Word inform your prayers.
Let your prayers lead you to the Word.

Like many of the stanzas in this psalm, there is an awareness that the psalmist is writing in the context of suffering and hardship.  When you are suffering (from your sin, the sins of others, or the fallenness of the world), then read and pray.  When suffering, imitate the four prayers of the psalmist:

1. “Lord, Hear My Prayer” (vv. 169-170)
2. “Lord, I Give You My Praise” (vv. 171-172)
3. “Lord, Be Near Me” (vv. 173-175)
4. “Lord, Forgive My Sin” (v. 176)

Download the rest of this sermon on Psalm 119:169-176.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.