Pour Your Heart Into It

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Opening Prayer

Dear God, on this Your day, Your name is on my lips because You have placed it in my heart. All praise to You.

Read Psalm 108:1-13

^[1] A song. A psalm of David. My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul. ^[2] Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. ^[3] I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. ^[4] For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. ^[5] Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. ^[6] Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. ^[7] God has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth. ^[8] Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter. ^[9] Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.” ^[10] Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? ^[11] Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? ^[12] Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. ^[13] With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.

Meditate

If you can, go to a window, look at the sky and pray, “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth” (Psa. 108:5).

Think Further

Howard Schultz is the founder and CEO of Starbucks Coffee. Since opening his first store in 1971, Schultz has turned one little shop into a global coffee brand. His book is a typical “how we did it” business tale, but its title, Pour Your Heart Into It, could easily describe David’s approach to prayer. That’s what we see in this psalm: David pours his heart into both praising God (1-5) and requesting his help (6,10-13). Over the centuries, countless millions have resonated with the psalms of David, but have you ever stopped to wonder why? The secret is that whether he was joyful or overwhelmed, David was always wholehearted in his approach to God. Is “wholehearted” a word that would describe your prayer life?

It’s interesting, however, that Psalm 108 is apparently an editor’s amalgamation of pieces from Psalms 57 and 60 (Psa. 57:7-11; 60:5-12; If you have time, take a minute to read them now.). That helps us to understand the original historical context. David wrote Psalm 57 while hiding from Saul in the cave of Adullam (1 Sam. 22:1,2). Psalm 60 was stimulated by the rough and tumble in one of David’s military campaigns (2 Sam. 8:3-6). David’s struggles are one of the things that formed him into a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). Honestly, I do everything I can to avoid struggles, but I have to admit that my prayer life is never more alive than when I am in the middle of them.

The final prayer tip we can take from this psalm has to do with confidence. David was a confident pray-er, but this wasn’t based on his power or ability: rather, it was based on his confidence in God (13). David’s strategy in life, leadership and prayer was this: trust God wholeheartedly.

Apply

How are you feeling right now: joyful, overwhelmed or something else? Pour your heart into expressing that to God and asking for his help.

Closing prayer

Gracious God, when times get difficult for me, I ask for grace, that I may learn what You want to teach me.

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