Psalm 32:8-11
I will instruct you and teach you
in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the man who trusts in him.
Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
Sing all you who are upright in heart! 

This past Sunday morning I spent an hour and a half at a local university radio station. I was there as a special quest on the station’s weekly contemporary gospel music program. The host of the show introduced me, and between various music selections we engaged in some lively banter. I talked about the books I have written, and I did a number of spoken word dramatizations of the Bible. This was live radio. Throughout the on airtime, both the host and I needed to be verbally on our toes—always ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.

The greatest fear of any radio host is “dead air,” that awkward silence that indicates someone has missed their verbal cue. That noise box that we call the radio, must always be pumping out music, advertisements or conversation. Silence is the great taboo of any broadcast media. To connect to the listeners, the audio broadcaster must never go silent.  Prayer however works differently. It has been said that prayer is a two-way street. To put it another way, God answers back when we pray. Consequently, during times of prayer, we need to listen for God, instead of only speaking out our requests. True prayer is two-way communication.

Unfortunately, this kind of prayer is only rarely modelled during times of public worship. Think for a moment of what might happen, if the pastor or worship leader at your church led the congregation in prayer and then paused to say, “Now let’s wait for God to answer.”

Silence might well follow. The listeners in the congregation might experience some “dead air.” We have been conditioned to see this as somehow wrong. We immediately feel that someone has missed their cue; they have dropped the ball. Every moment during a church service must be filled with music, or audible verbal communication of some kind. Like the radio broadcaster, we have come to see silence as a taboo, as though it were our enemy. But in that silence, if we are listening, God might speak.

Perhaps public prayer, as we know it, is not prayer at all. In most cases it is only one-way communication. And if that is so, we may more closely resemble the Pharisee that Jesus warned us about in the Gospel of Luke, than we even dare imagine. In the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee, we are told that, “the Pharisee stood up and prayed to himself” (Luke 18:11).

Every minister of the gospel should ask him or herself, “When I pray in public, am I like the Pharisee, praying to myself? Am I praying just to be heard by my audience? Am I praying to the LORD, or am I posturing for people? As a leader am I effectively modelling that prayer is two-way communication? How do I allow God to speak back to the congregation?”

In Psalm Thirty-two God speaks back. David begins this psalm and we clearly can hear his voice addressing us, as he tells how wonderful it is to be forgiven. He then goes on to speak of his own struggle with unconfessed sin. Finally, he tells us of the great relief he experienced as he is pardoned and restored to a place of close fellowship with the LORD. But then abruptly in verse eight, we hear a different voice. God is speaking. The LORD responds to what David has said. This psalm is two-way communication.

We have heard David’s words; let’s hear God’s words now. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”

Clearly this is not the voice of David. David is not going to counsel and watch over us. This is the work of the LORD. The LORD will teach and guide us. It is His role to shepherd the flock of His pasture.

These words, from verse eight to the end of this psalm are coming from the LORD. David has heard God speak, and now he is passing on this message from the LORD directly to us. In this respect David is fulfilling the role of a prophet. He is acting as God’s spokesperson. In fact, in Acts Chapter two, Peter asserts that David was a prophet. See Acts 2:30. And what is a prophet? In the simplest terms, it is someone who hears God, and then passes on God’s message to others.

Do you hear God? This is no idle, rhetorical question. It is essential to our Christian faith that we as believers hear the voice of God. I would go so far as to say, that you cannot experience salvation unless you first hear God. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:27-28a).

In short, we must be able to hear Jesus in order to follow Him, and it is in following Him that we receive eternal life.

At this point in my mind’s eye, I can see some of my readers furrowing their brows with worry. They are asking, “Do I really hear God’s voice?”

In all likelihood the answer is a resounding, “Yes, you hear God’s voice.”

If you have felt the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, revealing your sin to you, then you have heard God. If you have taken those sins to God in prayer, then you have obeyed the voice of God. If you have felt joy in knowing that your sins are forgiven, then in your spirit you have heard the Good Shepherd’s pardon. Rejoice then, because you have heard His voice and are part of His flock. 

Within the context of Psalm Thirty-two, we have seen all of this play out in the life of David. He has been convicted of sin; he has confessed his sin, and he has received God’s pardoning forgiveness. Because of all this he is numbered among blessed, even as he states as he beginning of this psalm, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”

If you have heard and obeyed God’s voice, you too are among that blessed number. And now we are assured by the LORD in the words of this psalm: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.“

Now this is a promise you can hang your hat on. If you have your ears open to hear the LORD, you can be sure that He will speak into your life to provide guidance. And remember, our God is a God of infinite variety. He can speak to you in numerous ways, and listed below are some of them.

God can speak to you, and He can direct you—

            – through the Holy Scriptures
            – through the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit
            – through his anointed servant leaders
            – through events and circumstances
            – through open doors and closed doors
            – through dreams and visions
            – and through prophetic words.
            – He can even speak to you through the words of the ungodly.

And please bear in mind that this is only intended as an illustrative list, not an exhaustive list. If you have come to Christ, the Good Shepherd, you can rest assured that He “will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.“

Many years ago now, a teaching colleague suggested I take a summer university course in a subject I particularly enjoyed, but had no formal training in. Taking the course would mean leaving my young family for a full month in the summer, taking a temporary leave from my pastoral responsibilities, and finding a temporary residence in a city five hours away. I also needed to come up with money, which I did not have to pay for tuition and all the other related expenses. Furthermore taking this course came with no guarantees that a teaching position would be waiting for me at the end of the process. Though I mentioned this suggested course to my wife, we both dismissed the idea as impractical and unworkable in our circumstances. I gave it no further thought.

One night about two weeks later, I went to bed as usual and promptly fell asleep. About an hour later I was abruptly aroused from a deep sleep by a voice saying, “You need to take that course.”

I was so startled by this voice that I was breathless for several seconds. My wife was sound asleep beside me. It was clear that she had not spoken; this voice did not sound at all like hers. It was a different, yet somehow familiar voice.

Then I was reminded of the story of the young boy Samuel, as he was called out of his place of sleep by the LORD. The full account can be found in 1 Samuel Chapter three. I could only conclude that the LORD was calling me out of a dead sleep to set me on a course of action, which I had earlier rejected. I resolved right then to obey the midnight voice.

That decision set into motion a whole series of events, which when taken together can only be described as miraculous. Money arrived from unexpected sources. Doors opened that had previously been shut. An unknown relative offered lodging in the city where this course was offered. And most surprising of all, within days of saying yes to the voice, through a series of divinely arranged coincidences, I was hired for a teaching position based on my decision to take this summer course. When I said yes to the LORD, He went before me and prepared the way.

Through this entire experience I was learning the truth of these words, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Are you about to make a choice that will affect the course of your entire life? Take those decisions to the LORD. Do not make those decisions by yourself. Pray with a listening heart. Here in His word, we have His promise. The LORD “will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; [He] will counsel you and watch over you.”

When you set your feet on the course that God has chosen for you, He will watch over you. There is ongoing counsel as you walk on the path that He has chosen for you. Listen for it. It can come in a variety of ways, including a voice at midnight.

By way of contrast we read this admonition from the LORD. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

 For those unfamiliar with a horse’s bit and bridle, this metaphor may require some explanation. The bit and bridle are really the steering mechanisms for the horse and rider. The bit is a round metal bar attached to the bridle. It is inserted into the horse’s mouth. A slight pull on both reins should bring the horse to a stop. A tug on the right rein will direct the horse to the right, and of course a tug on the left rein turns the horse to the left. The bit works because it pulls on the soft lips of the horse. A stubborn horse can seize control by clamping the bit in his teeth, leaving the rider powerless to provide direction.

My father grew up working with horses. He once had a horse that habitually took the bit in its teeth, when the time for an unpleasant task arrived. For that moment the horse had seized control, but in reality he was setting himself on a direct route for the dog food factory. As a work horse, he was useless, unreliable, and when needed most, he was out of control.

If we refuse to hear what God is saying to us, we are like that horse. We are taking our own direction, setting out on the wrong path—a path that leads to destruction.

Lest we miss the point, the LORD has both a warning and an encouragement for us. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

 The choice before us is clear. If we heed the LORD’s call, He surrounds us with His unfailing love. Oh, what a promise! If we choose to listen to another voice, and follow the wrong path, a life of woe will follow. We need to choose our path carefully. What do you want to be surrounded by? The LORD’s love or self-inflicted woe.

If we trust and obey, we have embarked on a course that will bring us lasting joy—joy down to the core, spilling over the sides, and filling our days. And the LORD has some final instructions for us, if we have heard Him and embarked on that course. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing all you who are upright in heart! 

Bringing Life to the Psalms

1. Read the calling of Samuel as found in 1 Samuel Chapter 3. Have you ever felt God was calling you to a particular course of action? How did you respond?
2. Are you currently facing choices that will affect the direction of your life? Take time to pray and wait for God to answer. Have others pray with you as well. Close friends who also walk with the LORD can provide wise counsel and confirm God’s will for your life.
3. If you are walking on God’s chosen path for your life, take some time to rejoice. Give Him thanks for leading you so clearly. Sing and let your worship flow to the LORD.
4. Reread Psalm 32. Take time to listen as you read. What is God saying to you by His Spirit?

 

Today’s post is Chapter 8 from the book Psalms Alive! Connecting Heaven & Earth by David Kitz. To find out more or purchase click here.