Daily Intimacy with God Amid Adversity

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You;

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul. -Psalm 143:8

This inspiring verse wonderfully expresses David’s constancy with God. Do you note the entreaty – “CAUSE me”? Can we hear and know anything about God unless God causes it to be so? Imagine that we can petition God who spoke the universe into existence, who is the eternal first “cause” to undertake on our behalf! Is there anything that God cannot cause – according to His will?

But note the causation David seeks is personal. “Cause ME.” David is seeking God relationally. That God would move in his life in specific ways. In ways that only God can cause. God’s self-disclosure is what David seeks. But what of God’s eternal attributes does David seek? Is God, in Himself, what you seek personally?

God’s lovingkindness in the morning. For I trust in you

David asks to hear – experience - God’s lovingkindness. For God is love. (1 John 4:8b) And pay close attention: David seeks this essential presence of God - in the morning.

Consider that we can experience God’s lovingkindness every morning! Every day, we can pray, “God, cause me to experience your love in the morning.” How would your life change if you truly prayed for and experienced God’s eternal sovereign love daily? A greater peace, a deeper joy, more passion for God, His Word, and His people? Hope for today and bright hope for tomorrow!1

Next, David expresses his daily fidelity to God. David’s confidence and security are in God’s love. David knew that nothing could separate him from the love of God, 2 and thus his fidelity to God was based on the eternal love of God experienced daily. Believer, our God is completely and eternally trustworthy; you can depend on him every morning. In fact, in all of life – only God is certain!

God’s direction and ways imparted: For to you I lift up my soul.

In Hebrew parallelism, mirroring the first phrase, David asks for God’s direction and ways imparted, and responds: for to you I lift up my soul. Each phrase is a petition and pledge reflecting David’s intimate relationship with God. That God would cause or teach (disciple) him in the way he should live. May God cause and teach us the way we should live every day. Are you seeking God’s daily direction and guidance? If so, how so?

David’s closing vow is beautiful. “For to you, I lift up my soul.” The soul directed by God is rightly directed. The soul inclined to God finds its true home and soul’s anchor3 in the eternal love and direction of God. Yet, don’t miss the salient context.

If you examine the context of this prayer, it is all the more remarkable. For David expressed these words amid dire, life-threatening adversity. David laments his plight, but here we see that the seeds of trial bear the fruit of intimacy with God for those who trust in Him.

Each morning, as you open your eyes, regardless of your circumstances, pray this prayer: “O my God, cause me to experience your love today, for I trust in you. Teach me the way I should walk, for to you I lift up my soul.”

For reflection and discussion:

1. Share ways in which you experience God’s love daily?

2. Considering God’s love, what are aspects of our daily fidelity to God? How do

you lift your soul to Him daily?

By day, Yahweh will command His lovingkindness; And by night, His song will be with me, A prayer to the God of my life. -Psalm 42:8

I love Yahweh, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, So I shall call upon Him in all my days. -Psalm 116:1-2

P. Fearon

1 "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," written by Thomas O. Chisholm in 1923

2 Rom. 8:39

3 Heb. 6:19