Daily Devotion

May 23, 2006

Psalms 119:164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.

Jewish traditions willed that a pious man would praise God seven times a day.  Twice in the morning before reading the Decalogue, and once after; twice in the evening before the same reading, and twice after; making in the whole seven times.

Any king wanting to show piety would make sure to respect these timings, but this king seemed to have had a prayer life that was much deeper than the shallow routine of rituals.  To be able to praise God for His righteous judgments, he had to have a special relationship with his Lord, as he had seen much torment in  his life.  He left home at a young age to sing for a mad king; fleeing this same mad king, he became a fugitive from his own country which he had saved. Later on, he lost the first son from the woman he loved, and because of his sin, the sword never departed from his house, and evil constantly rose from his family (2 Sam 12:9-11).  

How nice it would be if during the routine of our day we would learn to discipline ourselves to stop whatever it is we’re doing for a time of prayer and praise.  It would change our perspective on things and give us peace; it may even help us make better decisions!  

Lord, help me today to remember to praise you for your goodness, your care, your protection, your love, and your righteous judgments.    

Patrick Lumbroso
For past issues of the daily devotion go to my blog at:
http://hearthstoneministries.blogspot.com/