Give Me Life!—Psalm 119:153-160

Give Me Life!

Psalm 119:153-160

“Cause me to live”…he will press for nothing short of God’s vitalizing touch.
Derek Kidner 

“Give me life…give me life…give me life!” Three times the psalmist pleads with the Lord to give him life, to revive him again. Pleading for life usually comes when death appears imminent. For the psalmist, it was real, physical danger that caused him to cry out for rescue. And it may be for us as well. However, for many of us, we may not sense the nearness of our physical death, but we are well acquainted with the other forms of death. Spiritual dryness may have us questioning the authenticity of our salvation, and we long for God to revive us again. Perhaps there is some relationship in our lives that needs God’s life-giving work. Maybe we are mentally worn down, tired of pushing on day after day, and we’re desperate to feel joy, gladness, LIFE again. Most of us know friends and family that are spiritually dead, and we have been praying for years for God to give them life in Christ. We need nothing short of “God’s vitalizing touch.” In this world, we are surrounded by reminders that for now death is clinging to its temporary victory and sting (1 Corinthians 15:55).

Christ came that we may have life. With His life in us, we become more acutely aware of death’s presence and remaining power in this world and in us. We have had a taste of the way things ought to be and will be in eternity, and now we have a yearning, a deep longing, for the time when death will be no more. In this life, we will not be completely free of the effects of the curse, however in Christ, there is a new power at work in us, and a new Life living in us. Christ, the bread of life, is our life, and it is His Spirit that gives life. Right now, we must live by faith, and living by faith requires that we look at the areas of our lives where we see brokenness, sorrow, heartache, hardship, and deadness and believe that those things offer an opportunity for the life of Jesus to be clearly manifested in us (2 Corinthians 4:11). How can we, in our peculiar suffering, demonstrate that Christ lives in us and that we trust in His power? One way is to persevere in our cries for the Lord to “give me life” even in the seemingly impossible. Also, we trust that in our peculiar suffering He is producing more of His life in us. Our wait may be long until we see change in our situation, but as we take refuge in Him, we can be confident that we are changing, we are being transformed and conformed (Romans 8:29: 12:2).

What in your life needs God’s reviving power, His vitalizing touch? Like the psalmist, hand your case over to God (Psalm 119:154). Plead with Him, “Give _____ life!” How you fill in the blank will be unique to you. Perhaps a child’s name goes there, or a relationship, or your actual physical life. Whatever it is, keep coming, keep asking. One day, we will see the end of Death. One day, we will be gathered together singing the victory of Christ. Our faith will become sight. “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’”(1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭54‬-‭55‬) 

Let’s pray through Psalm 119:153-160 for His life in the situations and people in our lives that need to be revived by His power.

119:153-154 Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise! 
Heavenly Father, I pray:
▫️You see my affliction. You see the hardship that brings me to You today. Bring about my deliverance from ____________. Breathe Your life into ___________.
▫️In the areas where my suffering makes me vulnerable and susceptible to sin, show me my own heart and help me to not forget Your law but to abide by it even in my difficulties. 
▫️Plead my cause. I trust You to take care of me in this situation. Redeem ________. Use it for my good and to bring glory to You. Rise up for my help and vindicate me.
▫️Give me life according to Your promise. You have said that whoever loses their life for Your sake will find it (Matthew 16:25). Strengthen me to willingly lay down my life in/for ____________. 

119:155-156 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes. Great is your mercy, O Lord; give me life according to your rules. 
Heavenly Father, I pray:
▫️In the areas in my life where I feel weak and needy, afflicted and destitute, do justice for me and vindicate me. Deliver me out of the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:3-4).
▫️Great is Your mercy, O Lord, and Your faithfulness. Your mercies are new every morning. Will You not revive me again that I may rejoice in You (Psalm 85:6)? Show me Your mercy in this hardship that is causing me sorrow right now. I know You can make Yourself more manifest in me through this experience.

119:157-158 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies. I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands. 
Heavenly Father, I pray:
▫️ “O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still” (Psalm 83:1 NASB). There are many things that are waging war on my soul. Rise up for my help. Where I have actual enemies, deal with them in such a way, that they will humbly acknowledge that You alone are Most High over all the earth (Psalm 83:18).
▫️Keep me from being faithless. Help me to cling to Your commands and not swerve from Your testimonies. Make this a time where I will grow in holiness.

119:159-160 Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love. The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Heavenly Father, I pray:
▫️I love You and Your precepts. Give me life according to Your steadfast love. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬). Help me to live in such a way that it is evident that Christ is living in me. 
▫️I praise You that I can rely on the entirety of Your Word. I am so thankful for the promises that You have made to me as Your child. One day, I will be with You, and I will drink from the water of life and eat from the tree of life and You will wipe every tear from my eye (Revelation 7:17; 22:1-2). Let that truth strengthen my resolve to live for You and Your kingdom.

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All right reserved.

Photo credit to mascapone31.

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