As Long As I Live
The Sapphire Review Vol. 1 | No. 1 • May 28, 2024
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I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Psalm 116:1–2
What a privilege it is to have the ear of the Most High! Psalm 116 is a vivid picture of David’s gratitude toward God for His help. It was in the midst of, and after, great trials that David often lifted his voice unto God.
If God was some distant uncaring father, who paid no attention to the plight of his children, could such a psalm ever be written? Scripture gives us many examples of God’s divine providence in David’s life during his times of need.
Has God changed? Certainly not! Scripture speaks of Jesus being the same yesterday, today, and forever. It was also in the life of Christ, that the disciples saw the very nature and character of God the Father.1
The prayers of God’s children are certainly no burden to Him. Peter urges us to cast our cares at the feet of our loving Father. Peter also tells us that God’s ears are open to the righteous. Solomon tells us that God delights in the prayers of the upright. In Chronicles, we read of God searching the whole earth for someone whose heart is devoted to Him, so He can work in a mighty way on their behalf.2
What person would ever joyfully proclaim that, for as long as they live, they would call upon a person or being that never answered, never helped, or never came through in times of great need? Any such statement would be empty and lacking the vigor and gratitude that we find coming forth in Psalm 116. David found the ear of the one true God, who was near to him in his broken heartedness, who delighted in his prayers, and who showed Himself strong on his behalf. He found the ear of the merciful and loving God that answers prayers.3
In the early years of our faith, when we have not yet experienced for ourselves the consistent, faithful, and mighty hand of God, we can be a bit perplexed with the outcomes of our circumstances. Sometimes it is a simply result of our own doings, in not fully relying upon God as we should. Things may not turn out how we may have wanted them to, because we couldn’t bring ourselves to the place of fully letting go, and letting God have control. Other times, it may be a result of our misunderstanding of what a “good” answer to prayer really looks like.
Romans 8:28 is a popular verse that is too often thrown around without much understanding. People use this verse to encourage others of the “good” that God will certainly bring about from their undesirable circumstances. However, too many people see this “good” as only being relief from their circumstances, or whatever it is in their life that is bringing about some fleshly discomfort.
Though there are plenty of times where an answer comes in the form of our desired relief, this standing by itself is a wrong view of “good.” The very next verse, for example, speaks of us being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.4
Asaph writes of difficulties, and of the failing of his flesh and of his heart. Yet, he proclaims that there is nothing else that he desires beside God, and that it is “good” for him to draw near to God.5
So, we see from these scriptures that anything that God gives, as an answer to our prayers, that results in us drawing nearer to Him or in our characters becoming more like that of Christ’s, is certainly a “good” answer, regardless of the physical outcomes of our circumstances.
Truly, the man or woman that has experienced the hand of God in their greatest times of need, will proclaim their love for Him, and they will call upon Him as long as they live. They will join a long list of brothers and sisters before them, who have tasted and seen the goodness of God.6
May God help us to live our lives in such a way, that our prayers would be a delight to Him, and that our hearts would truly desire Him above everyone and everything upon this earth. Then we can joyfully and triumphantly say that we love the Lord, and we will call upon Him as long as we live!
God Bless,
Charles
very good read!
Thank you for sharing these beautiful truths!🙏