Psalm 119:26 – Just Talking
I tell you my stuff and you answer me.
Teach me your statutes.
I frequently comment that “always and everywhere there is stuff.” There is stuff to do, stuff not to do, stuff that I did, and stuff that I didn’t do. Not to mention the physical stuff to keep, stuff to get rid of, and stuff I have no idea how to handle. I used “stuff” here to translate “my ways.”
One of the fascinating things about the psalms is the spiritual life that is reflected by the poetry. These are not the trite poems of people whose relationship with God is shallow, casual, or even easy. These poems come from the depths, and to reflect those depths, they must come from a heart with depth of experience.
“Lord, I tell you my stuff and you answer me.” That’s powerful in itself. So many times when I’m talking about prayer, teaching about prayer, or discussing prayer in a group the entire conversation centers around things we ask for and whether or not we’ll get what we want. We talk about praise and thanksgiving, but often that’s largely as a thing that we need to do so our prayers are more effective. “Effective” is defined as getting what we want.
This verse is talking about something really effective. It is prayer that works. It is prayer that is powerful. “I tell you my stuff and you answer me.” In theology-speak, I tell Almighty God what I care about and Almighty God actually talks to me about it. This isn’t about having the gift of prophecy, or getting messages to pass to colleagues with a “God told me” and a superior holy expression on my face.
It’s having a conversation with something incomprehensibly beyond myself.
I think the psalmist speaks from that experience, and that’s as important to me as the direct teaching of the text.
And what does he want to know when he has this conversation with God? “Teach me your statutes.” Many of us would have different requests, but again, the psalmist is asking as profound a question as he can. “Maker of the universe, tell me how this works. Tell me who you are.” And bit by bit, he learns more.
Some wonder how he can talk about the law for 176 verses. Why all this creative writing to tell about the law? But that is to misunderstand what he means by “law.” He’s talking about Torah. God’s actions. God’s commands. God’s relationship to God’s people. And another word used for it is Word. God’s Word that created everything.
Inside our wedding rings, Jody and I had inscribed the reference Ephesians 3:14-21. Paul here reflects this same type of experience and the goal. Let me quote just verses 18-19:
… may you, in company with all God’s people, be strong to grasp what is the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, and to know it, though it is beyond knowledge. So may you be filled with the very fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:18-19 (REB, emphasis mine)
Seek to hear ever more of what God can communicate to you.
(Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)