Read (from the New Living Translation)

Psalm 139: 1, 16-17

¹ Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. ¹⁶You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. ¹⁷How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

(Read the whole chapter for more – Psalm 139)

Go Deep

Today we hear from the lovely Bekah from The Wally Show. We love how honestly she shares her heart on the subject of prayer!

“God, thank you so much for this day…. and uh….help our friends with their crisis….whatever it is. Uh…please be with grandma….I wonder how she’s doing….and uh….well you know more than I do. So….amen.”

I hate admitting that’s what my distracted prayers often look like. I wish I were an incredible prayer warrior, but if I’m totally being honest, I sometimes struggle with verbalizing what to say. I sometimes question why I need to verbalize it when I’m praying to an omnipotent God. If He knows everything, why does prayer matter?

In Psalm 139, David admits that God knows his every thought. Yet throughout Psalms, David constantly comes to God in prayer. He praises Him. He cries out to Him in times of distress. Have you ever wondered how adulterous, murderous David could be called a man after God’s own heart? Maybe it’s because David pointed his heart toward God through prayer.

It may seem elementary, but just as communication is the key to a romantic relationship, prayer is key to our relationship with God. My husband can see when I’m upset and usually knows what’s upsetting me. But if I don’t talk to him about it, what kind of relationship do we really have?

Yet with God, I often don’t spend enough time pointing my heart toward Him. How can I know someone I don’t talk to? How can I learn compassion and love for others if I don’t lift them up in prayer? How can I truly rely on my Creator if I don’t come to Him with my needs? How can I truly be thankful if I’m not praising the One who’s given me everything?

God knows my every thought and breathe, but getting to know Him better means spending time in prayer. Maybe you struggle like I do with your own distracted prayers. Like any habit, it may take some changes to get better at it. It could mean setting a reminder on your phone to take a few minutes out of your day to pray. Maybe it means writing your prayers down on paper. Whatever that looks like for you, point your heart toward His, because His thoughts for you are precious!

Notes from the Illustrated Study Bible

Prayer Psalms image

The Hebrew words leb and lebab (both meaning “heart”) are hard to translate because they rarely refer to the physical human heart. Rather, the heart is the center of one’s being, an image for a person’s thought life, reflections, and will. The story of the heart reveals a person’s commitment and direction in life.

The psalmists openly confess their sorrow, trouble, anguish, and despair (13:2; 22:14; 25:17; 38:8, 10; 40:12; 55:4; 61:2). Through their pain, their hearts grow. They pray intensely (62:8; 119:80, 145), long for God (84:2), trust in him (28:7), and open their hearts to God’s examination (7:9; 17:3; 26:2; 139:1-6, 23). Their commitment does not waver, and their hearts are pure (24:4; 51:10; 73:1, 13) and contented (131:1), even when broken.

As their broken hearts (34:17-18; 51:17) are healed by the Lord (147:3), they become strong, confident (27:3, 14; 31:24; 57:7; 108:1; 112:7-8; 138:3), and full of life (22:26; 69:32; 119:32). In the end, the Lord gives them the desires of their hearts (20:4; 21:2; 37:4) and then satisfies them. This fills the godly with joy and praise (4:7; 9:1; 13:5; 16:7, 9; 19:8; 30:12; 33:21).

Get more readings and great conversation in the World’s Biggest Small Group!